Russia executed an agreement to sell 98 Ilyushin planes for civilian use to Venezuela, Russian newspapers reported Friday.

Sergei Chemezov, the head of state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed the agreement on the sale of Ilyushin-114 planes that can be used both for passengers and cargo, said daily newspaper Vremya-Novostei.

The deal will amount to some thousand million US dollars, daily Izvestia reported.

According to the senior official, last year 24 Sukhoi jets and 53 choppers were sold to Venezuela as part of a pool of long-term arms agreements for over USD 3 billion. No details were disclosed.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez visited Russia in June and thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for expressing solidarity in the face of a dispute with the US Government, said Reuters.

Washington banned US companies from selling arms to Venezuela.