Endeavoring to modernize and restructure its fleet, Russia's big-gest airline Aeroflot last week signed a contract to acquire 18 new passenger planes from French aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Aeroflot will purchase eight medium-range A319 and A320 aircraft directly from Airbus and will lease 10 more from U.S.-based General Electric Capital Aviation Services.

The deal, signed in Toulouse, the heart of the French aeronautical industry, is reportedly worth around $600 million and is part of Aeroflot's campaign to re-place its ageing Soviet-era fleet with Western aircraft.

The agreement was reached following a meeting by French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Kasyanov on a two-week visit to France ahead of the eighth annual Franco-Russian summit.

An agreement between the Russian company Kaskol and Airbus parent company Euro-pean Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. to establish an engineering center in Moscow further improved ties between the Russian and French aviation industries.

Also this week, the Russian civil aviation authority announced that the transport of air freight between Russia and China will recommence after a three-month ban.

In August, the Chinese government blocked the transportation of goods by air from China to Russia after it was discovered that Russian pla-nes were often overloaded.

Following several months of talks between the Russian aviation authority and the Chinese Ministry of Trans-port, it was agreed the ban would be lifted under certain conditions.

Russian cargo planes must be specially equipped to prevent overloading, and Chinese airports plan to introduced stricter controls.

Russian air-freight companies will be relieved at this news. It is said they earn $200 million annually from goods transported by air from China.

Meanwhile, at Pulkovo-2, St. Petersburg's international air terminal, as is the case elsewhere in the northern capital, reconstruction and modernization work continues in time for the city's 300th anniversary.

According to the airport's press service, the outer walls of the terminal have been erected, the roof put up and the interior design has begun.

It is hoped that the improvements will double passenger volume to 1,800 passengers per hour.