The UN aviation agency is hoping to open a new route for commercial aircraft in international airspace over the Black Sea that will be managed by Ukraine and without "interference" from Russia.
In an interview with Reuters, Raymond Benjamin said the International Civil Aviation Organization is in talks to open new flight paths over parts of the Black Sea, closed to air traffic last year due to conflict in the region.
Reuters reported on February 2 that Ukraine and Russia were in indirect talks on a deal that would allow air traffic to resume in international airspace over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
That airspace, managed by Ukraine, is off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, which was forcibly annexed by Russia last year.
Benjamin declined to identify the exact location of the new route.
Russia's ICAO delegation did not respond to requests for comment.
