MOSCOW, August 8 - RAPSI. The Supreme Commercial Court has dismissed the Defense Ministry's application to submit for reconsideration to its presidium the refusal to recover $44 million from Polyot Airlines under a lease contract.

The ministry seeks the repayment of the air carrier's debt, which the company accumulated by forgoing its lease payments for an An-124 airplane, which it began renting from the ministry in 2000. The requested amount includes penalties for the plane's late acceptance and return.

The Voronezh-based Polyot transports super-heavy and bulk cargo. It has made regular passenger flights since 2003. Its fleet includes Аn-124-100 Ruslan and Il-96-400Т cargo aircraft, as well as Saab 2000 passenger planes.