Naval

Russia Wants Formal French Answer on Mistral

By Pierre Tran

Jan 13, 2015

A picture shows the Sevastopol (L) and the Vladivostok warships, two Mistral class LHD amphibious vessels ordered by Russia from STX France in Saint-Nazaire, western France, on December 20, 2014. Russia will gladly take back the money it paid for French Mistral-class warships whose handover has been delayed by concerns over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, deputy defence minister Yury Borisov has said. France, which is struggling economically, is faced with a tough decision: deliver the two mammoth warships to Russia and face the wrath of its NATO allies or end up with two vessels equipped for the Russian navy and pay the price and possibly heavy fines. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD

PARIS — The French procurement office Tuesday declined to comment on a report Russia has asked for a written statement on whether the Mistral class helicopter carrier will be delivered to Moscow.

Russia has officially sent a written request to France for an explanation of the refusal to deliver the Mistral warship, Russian news agency Ria-Novosti reported, according to Agence France-Presse.

A Russian official for in the military and technical cooperation service sent the letter to the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) procurement office, "with the aim of receiving an official reply," the report said.

A DGA spokesman declined to comment.

A planned summit among meetingbetween France, Germany and Russia is due to be held plan to hold a summit on Thursday Jan. 15 at Astana, Kazakhstan, in a bid to break the deadlock over the Ukraine crisis. The French, German, Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers met here Monday yesterday to prepare the ground for the top-level meeting.

Russia has previously called on France to either decide to deliver the Mistral or hand back the payment.

DCNS, prime contractor for the Mistral, had organized an official handover of the Vladivostok on Nov. 14, of the Vladivostokthe first of the two helicopter carriers bought by Russia.

France on Nov. 25 suspended the delivery and said the warship would only be released if there were a real cease-fire was observed in Ukraine and if Moscow and Kiev reached a political settlement over the deadly dispute in eastern Ukraine.

The Mistral contract is understood to have been written under Swiss law. Under the force majeure clause in a sales contract, there is generally a 180-day suspension until a decision to cancel is required.

Moscow officials have called on France to decide whether to cancel, and if so then refund the purchase.

The then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted on going ahead in 2011 with the €1.2 billion (US $1.4 billion) sale of the two warships, Vladivostok and Sevastopol, much to the concern of allies in Central European and the Baltics.

Email: ptran@defensenews.com.