During the visit by Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas to Iraq in May, his Iraqi counterpart, Nuri al-Maliki, announced that the two sides were negotiating the sale to Baghdad of 24 L-159 fighter planes manufactured by the Czech firm Aero Vodochody and owned by the Czech Air Force. On Friday, the daily E15 cited Aero Vodochody boss, Ladislav Šimek, as saying the Iraqis are now interested in acquiring 36 L-159s – in exchange for oil.