In the context of the sound and unflagging ties that it fosters with Russia and its aeronautical sector, Airbus has decided to associate itself with Saint Petersburg's tercentenary celebrations by, among other things, taking part in the construction of the Peace Tower in Siennaya Square. Designed and built by the French artist Clara Halter and the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this universal and highly symbolic monument refers to the values of dialogue, cooperation and tolerance between the peoples which constitute the very essence of Airbus.

Eighteen metres high, the Tower consists of a central metallic structure surrounded by two glass half-cylinders engraved with the word "peace" in 49 languages using 18 different alphabets. The monument is lit from the interior, and prolonged by two light beams that will be visible to all the inhabitants of the town.

Airbus, whose success is the fruit of trans-national cooperation, has never ceased to strengthen its links with the Russian aeronautical sector since 1991, both at the airline and industrial levels. Amongst the most recent events of note for this partnership has been the selection by the flag carrier airline, Aeroflot, of aircraft from the A320 family to serve as the backbone of its short-/medium-haul fleet, and the setting up of the Airbus-Kaskol Engineering Centre in Moscow.

Airbus also has a regional office in Moscow and a Customer Support technical representation with Aeroflot. Headquartered in Toulouse (France), Airbus is an EADS joint company with BAE SYTEMS.

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