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Two helicopter carriers of the Mistral type built for Russia can be flooded by France in the open sea in case of termination of the contract. This was reported by the newspaper Le Figaro.

"Among the main options for the actions considered by official Paris, the possibility of destroying the helicopter carriers is studied. They will either be dismantled and disposed of or flooded in the open sea," the newspaper writes.

The newspaper considers this option to complete the Franco-Russian contract "shocking." A high-ranking military emphasizes that such measures are "unacceptable at least from the point of view of the attitude to the workers of the Saint-Nazer, where giant ships were built."

Helicopter bearers are unlikely to be part of the French Navy, notes the publication: "They were modified for Russian standards, and in this case they will have to be rebuilt and re -equip, which, according to experts, will cost many hundreds of millions of euros."

“The main option in this connection is the opportunity to find new buyers for these two Mistrals,” the newspaper notes. According to her, Canada, Egypt and one of the North European countries appear among potential customers.

According to the publication, Moscow blackmail the French side with sanctions for disrupting the contract. The soft position of President Francois Hollande on the Ukrainian issue is connected with this. “If you help me, there will be no penalties. Otherwise, we will exactly comply with the terms of the contract,” Putin’s words quoted Leland in Moscow on December 6 last year quoted Le Figaro.

The first ship of the Mistral class, built for Russia and received the name "Vladivostok", was launched in the water in October 2013, and back in November 2014 was supposed to be transferred to the Russian Navy. At the last moment, Paris for an indefinite period suspended the transfer of the helicopter carrier to the Russian side, motivating his decision to the situation in Ukraine. It was originally planned that the second ship "Sevastopol" would be transferred to the Russian side in the second half of 2015, however, as in the case of the first ship, the decision on its delivery is still frozen.

On April 26, Le Journal Du Dimanche said that it has already been practically decided that Paris will return to Russia 800 million euros previously paid and compensate for other expenses for the project in the amount of another 300 million euros. The necessary funds for this, France expects to receive from Poland for the supply of helicopters under a contract of 2 billion euros. At the same time, France will receive from Russia the right to resell the two built helicopters.