MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax-AVN) - Indonesia may revise a decision on postponing purchases of Russian Sukhoi fighters for three years and may buy warplanes and other Russian weapons in 1.5-2 years, said Konstantin Makiyenko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis, Strategies and Technologies.
Indonesia made this decision because it fears it might lack funds to revive its economy following the tsunami disaster of December 2004, Makiyenko told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
"In spite of the fact that Indonesia suffered from the devastating tsunami with severe loss of life and made a public announcement that it was postponing any purchases of Russia's Sukhoi fighters by three years, it may reconsider this decision," Makiyenko said.
"Russia should take advantage of the present situation and reformulate its suggestions on the Indonesian market," he said.
"A recent analysis has shown that the disaster generated not only risks, but also opened up new opportunities to search for new avenues of cooperation to replace old projects on which a temporary freeze has been imposed," he said.
Among other products, new offers for Indonesia may include weapons-equipped MI-17 Hip helicopters, BE-103 amphibious planes, transports from the Russian Air Force's fleet or its storage hangars, and armed patrol craft for anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations, he said.
Although the death toll from the tsunami in Indonesia stands at about 200,000, experts have estimated the country's economic damage at $2.6 billion, Makiyenko said. This can be explained by the fact that energy sector enterprises, which account for 52% of the economic output of the worst-hit province of Aceh, were not damaged, he said.
The ongoing international relief effort - Australia alone has pledged $665 million for the province's economic restoration within the next five years - will help deal with the damage the disaster caused to Aceh's economy in the short-term prospect, he said.