Translated material
France announced the conclusion of an agreement with Russia on Mistrals
Russia and France have reached an agreement to terminate the contract for the construction of Mistral-class helicopter carriers.
This is stated in a message released by the press service of the presidential administration of France.
The agreement reached provides that the French side will have the full right to dispose of the built Mistrals at its discretion.
In turn, the Russian side will be "fully reimbursed for the costs under the contract," the Elysee Palace said in a statement. The press service of the President of France did not report on the exact amount in question.
The press service of the President of the Russian Federation, in turn, confirmed that Vladimir Putin and Francois Hollande "made a joint decision to terminate the contract."
France has already transferred the funds paid under the contract to the Russian Federation, according to a message posted on the website of the President of the Russian Federation. The amount of funds paid is not specified.
“Moscow considers the issue of the Mistrals to be completely settled,” the message on the website of the President of the Russian Federation emphasizes.
French Presidents François Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached an agreement during talks on the afternoon of [August 5] to terminate the contract for the construction of two Mistral-class ships (French).
- The contract for the construction of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, which were to be named Vladivostok and Sevastopol, was signed in 2011. The amount of the contract for the construction of two Mistrals was reported to be 1.2 billion euros. Russia made a payment of 840 million euros.
- It was assumed that the first ship would be handed over to Russia in November 2014. However, in the summer of 2014, French President Francois Hollande said that against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine, he "does not see conditions" for the transfer of ships to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
- According to Kommersant, the Russian Federation and France have been actively negotiating compensation for the non-delivery of Mistrals and the conditions for terminating the contract since the spring of 2015.
- France, as Kommersant wrote, was ready to return the advance paid for the Mistrals to the Russian Federation. The Russian side, in addition to the return of the advance, also insisted on the reimbursement of related costs, including the creation of infrastructure in the ports of the Russian Federation for helicopter carriers and the training of crews. According to the newspaper, the Russian Federation sought payment of about 1.2 billion euros.