French Defense Minister Says Russia May Never Receive Mistral Warships -- New York Times
PARIS — Two warships that France agreed to sell to Russia might never be delivered, the French defense minister said on Friday, drawing an angry response from Moscow, which said Paris must honor its contract in full.
The remarks by Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian came a week after President François Hollande said France would postpone the handover of the first of the ships to the Russian Navy “until further notice.”
“It is possible that we never deliver them,” Mr. Le Drian said in an interview on the news channel BFM TV. “The Russians must realize this situation.”
The Mistral-class ships are designed to transport several hundred troops to a battlefield by sea, along with the equipment and support they would need, including tanks and helicopters.
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More News On The French Defense Minister's Comments That Russia May Never Receive Mistral Warships
France may 'never deliver' Mistral warships to Russia -- France 24
France may never deliver Russia’s Mistral warships, defence minister -- RFI
Russia: France must follow through on warship delivery -- UPI
Lavrov: France 'Must Fulfill Obligations' Over Warship Delivery -- Defense News/AFP
Mistral issue is problem of France’s reputation — Lavrov -- ITAR-TASS
Russia Threatens Lawsuit After France Suspends Mistral Warship Delivery -- Moscow Times
4 comments:
I've been wanting to know, has Russia already paid for these ships or not?
Cause the answer of that could change the context of this spat.
A partial payment/deposit was made (the details have not been made public). With the balance upon delivery.
And, fully expecting either some political foot dragging or cancellation, Russia wrote an ironclad major penalty clause into the contract, and late fees.
Apparently, on late fees alone, the first Mistral will be "free" by the end of December, ( because technically, the contract has not been cancelled),
I read somewhere that the penalty fees could amount to 2 billion euros ... if not more. I would love to know who was the Russian/French lawyer who drew up that clause .... because he/she deserves a huge bonus.
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