MOSCOW, Nov 2 (Prime-Tass) — Russia’s Transportation Ministry said in a statement Friday that it has extended Lufthansa Cargo’s overflight permit until November 15, a move that at least temporarily puts an end to a ban on flights by the German airline’s cargo flights through Russian airspace.

Russia banned Lufthansa Cargo flights October 27 after the German company opposed a Russian proposal to move its cargo hub to a Russian city from Astana in Kazakhstan. The ban does not affect Lufthansa passenger flights. Initial reports following the ban suggested the dispute was focused on overflight fees.

According to the ministry’s statement, German aviation authorities have promised by November 7 to choose either Krasnoyarsk or Novosibirsk in Siberia as a cargo hub for Lufthansa Cargo flights to Southeast Asia.

The Russian ministry said Friday that, according to a protocol of intent signed by Russian and German aviation authorities in February, Lufthansa was supposed to have chosen either airport before June 25, but failed to do so.

Weekly, some 20 Lufthansa Cargo flights departing from Frankfurt fly over Russia on the way to Astana, Kazakhstan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dow Jones Newswires reported earlier this week citing a spokesman for the airline. The spokesman said these destinations are important hubs and refueling stops on the way to Asia.

Russia and the E.U. have been at odds over Russian overflight fees for foreign airlines. Russia agreed to phase out the fees by 2013 but has not yet signed an agreement scrapping the fees. Russian aviation authorities are widely expected, however, to significantly increase air navigation fees over coming years bringing them in line with the European average.

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On November 1, the German side announced that it would suspend the landing rights of Aeroflot and an allied Russian airline, Tesis, at Hahn Airport in western Germany, for as long as Lufthansa Cargo is denied access to Russian air space. Aeroflot and Tesis use Hahn Airport for approximately 30 flights per week in loading and unloading operations, which are linked to highway and railway transportation in that region. Aeroflot promptly threatened to move its operations to nearby Luxemburg, if suspended from using Hahn.

Hahn is located in the German federal state (Land) of Rheinland-Pfalz, whose Chief Minister Kurt Beck serves concurrently as leader of the Social-Democrat Party. Unwilling to risk losing some of the ground transportation business and jobs linked to Russian air operations in his bailiwick, Beck quickly intervened through party channels to withdraw the German countermeasure. Minister Tiefensee, also a Social-Democrat, yielded to Beck as he did to Moscow, restoring Russian use of Hahn Airport on November 2.

In other words, it was a vote-grab by a local politician that in this case undid it. Which means, Germany did not consider this enough of an issue to sacrifice an election internally. So they didn’t use their counter-leverage.

They won’t always have all the cards.

Kazakhstan may not be the force of action here — my money is on Berlin to bite back hard, just so long as Lufthansa can make it clear that this kind of treatment deserves the harshest response.