The German transport ministry indicated Friday that Lufthansa was willing to transfer its Asian cargo hub from Kazakhstan to an airport in Russia, but a timetable needed to be worked out.

"Discussions with the Russian transport ministry continue," German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said in a statement.

"At this time, it is above all a question of a timetable for the transfer of Lufthansa Cargo towards the Russian airport of Krasnoyarsk."

"The precondition is the creation of infrastructure to enable flights to that airport in any weather condition."

Lufthansa has been locked in a dispute with Russian authorities over the right to reach the airline`s cargo hub in Kazakhstan by flying over Russian territory.

An agreement allowing Lufthansa to fly in Russian air space expired earlier this week and Russia then blocked Lufthansa Cargo from entering the country`s airspace.

Moscow is attempting to persuade Lufthansa to move its cargo hub to Russia.

Lufthansa said in a statement that it had not yet consented to move its hub and said the location of the refuelling and cargo centre should not be linked to overflight rights.

"We don`t agree that talks about overflight rights should be linked to demands for the transfer of the cargo hub.

"Lufthansa Cargo will only consider a move if operational and commercial conditions are established," the company added.

"In the short term it is not possible to move the hub to Krasnoyarsk for organisational reasons."
sections: Economics, World News