Russia Chose to Skip UK Defense Expo Before Organizers' Dis-invite

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow had no plans to participate in the British defense and security expo DSEI-2015, a decision made prior to learning the Russian delegation would not be invited, a senior official at Russian state technology company Rostec said Wednesday.

“The organizers of the DSEI-2015 said ‘no’ too late, because we had decided not to attend the expo even before,” Viktor Kladov, head of Rostec’s Department of International Cooperation, told RIA Novosti.

Kladov said that the expo is not relevant for the Russian market.

“Before we used to send delegations there for political reasons, spent money to continue dialogue, but now when we are not issued visas it would be useless and foolish to do it. This is why we decided not to go,” Kladov added.

Last year, UK authorities denied visas to several members of the Russian delegation who expressed their interest in attending the Farnborough International Airshow, linking the move to Moscow’s stance on the crisis in Ukraine.

The Rostec representative said that Russia had declined to attend other “wasteful and useless” expos, including Australia’s Avalon airshow, which took place in February.

Kladov stressed that every year Russia attends some 20 international and 20 national arms and defense expositions. The country’s goal is primarily to present Russian military equipment on Russian territory. Kladov highlighted that countries and corporations attending the MAKS international aviation and space salon outside Moscow, for example, express real interest in cooperation and trade with Russia.

The MAKS international aviation and space show takes place annually in the city of Zhukovsky near Moscow. This year, MAKS will be held August 25-30.