Airbus urged the West not to block imports of titanium from Russia, saying sanctions would do more damage to Western production than to the Russian economy, Reuters reported.

Widening the action taken after Russia's invasion of Ukraine to titanium, used in airplanes and jet engines, would "not be appropriate," Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said at an annual shareholder meeting.

Airbus is accelerating a search for non-Russian supplies in the long term, while its needs are covered in the short and medium term, Faury said.