Ukraine should return its reputation of an aircraft building state, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"Ukraine should return its reputation of an aircraft building state that produces planes and satisfies its own demand, as well as that of the world markets," he told journalists in Kyiv on Friday, following a ceremony to demonstrate the fuselage of the first An-70 series aircraft.

The premier promised that the government will support the project and the aircraft building in general.

He added that the An-70 program is a good example of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia.

Azarov stressed that the aircraft has better technical characteristics than its analogues abroad, and that successful implementation of the program will intensify development of the whole sphere.

"The fight for this aircraft was a long-lasting one and it is not finished yet. The sooner we launch batch production, the sooner this fight will end," the premier said.