Putin, in Malaysia, discusses military hardware and Iraq

Vladimir Putin is on a drive to sell more aircraft to Southeast Asia. As part of the strategy the Russian President is in Malaysia for little more than a day before returning home via Uzbekistan. Arriving in the capital Kuala Lumpur yesterday, he was welcomed by the King as well as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. He is expected to sign a deal worth 800 million euros for 18 Sukhoi warplanes, deliverable in 2006. Military experts say the planes, Sukhoi Su-30MKs, will be the most powerful combat aircraft ever operated by a Southeast Asian country. Russia has sold similar versions to China and India, and a less advanced version to Vietnam. America's Boeing is hoping to sell Malaysia a squadron of Super Hornet fighters. But Mahathir, who was fiercely critical of the US-led invasion of Iraq, is sitting on the 1 billion euro deal.