Russia bans Lufthansa flights

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Russia has revoked the right of Lufthansa's cargo unit to fly over its airspace, forcing the German-based airline to divert its flights to Kazakhstan, a company spokesman said Friday, as government negotiators from both sides met to resolve the dispute.

The ban means Lufthansa's cargo flights have to fly an extra three hours to reach Kazakhstan, which uses up an extra 600,000 liters of jet fuel a week, spokesman Peter Schneckenleitner said.

"That means, of course, more costs, more fuel, more time," he said, adding that for now, those costs were not being passed on to cargo customers.

Schneckenleitner said the ban came into effect Sunday at the start of Lufthansa cargo's winter schedule and that the company did not know the reason for it.

A spokesman for Germany's transport ministry refused to comment on the reason for the ban and said negotiations between the two countries were ongoing at a junior ministerial level.

The spokesman said Germany was investigating whether third parties in Europe were also affected and was considering asking the European Union to intervene.

Both Schneckenleitner and the transport ministry spokesman, however, said they were optimistic the two countries could resolve the issue.

"We hope and expect that there is a swift political solution to this matter, but I have no information right now when I can expect this exactly," Schneckenleitner said. E-mail to a friend

CNN producer Diana Magnay contributed to this report

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