President Francois Hollande has
decided to suspend delivery of the
first Mistral-class ship to Russia
"until further notice," citing the
situation in Ukraine as the reason,
media reported an Elysee Palace
statement.
Le président @fhollande
considère que la situation en
Ukraine ne permet toujours pas
la livraison du premier #
Mistralpic.twitter.com/
lTaawd9jSg
— Élysée (@Elysee) November
25, 2014
"The President of the Republic
believes that the current situation in
the east of Ukraine still does not
allow the transfer of the first Russian
Mistral-type ships to Russia," a
statement from the Elysée Palace
said.
In this regard, Francois Hollande felt
it necessary to postpone the new
order to study the request for
permission to supply Russia with the
first Mistral vessel, the communique
informed.
READ MORE: ‘Outraged’ French union
urges Hollande to honor Mistral deal,
2,500 jobs at stake
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury
Borisov said it will patiently wait for
the fulfillment of the contract, RIA
Novosti reports.
However, Russia will act “strictly
according to the contract,” and will
sue France should the ship not be
delivered at all, Borisov warned.
"If [France] won't deliver [Mistral],
we’ll sue and impose penalties. The
behavior of the Russian side is
strictly regulated by the signed
contract," he explained, as cited by
TASS.
Moscow has previously pledged to
make financial claims to France if the
first of two Mistral warships is not
delivered by the end of November.
The warning came from a high-
ranking source and was made public
earlier this month by RIA Novosti.
"We are preparing for different
scenarios. We are waiting until the
end of the month [the fulfillment of
Mistral deal], then we will make
serious claims," the source said on
condition of anonymity.
READ MORE: Moscow to seek
damages if Mistral ship not delivered
by end Nov - source
France already missed a mid-
November deadline for handing over
the first of the amphibious assault
ships to Russia.
On November 16, one of the France’s
biggest union federations, Workers’
Force, called on Paris to fulfill the
Mistral deal and deliver the two
warships to Russia, otherwise 2,500
shipyard employees may lose their
jobs.
Le Figaro reported that the union
expressed "shock and outrage" after
Paris put off the delivery due to
pressure from the US and EU, which
imposed several waves of sanctions
against Moscow after Crimea joined
Russia amid the Ukraine crisis.
Russia and France signed a €1.12
billion ($1.6 billion) contract for two
Mistral-class ships back in June
2011.
Under the deal, Russia was due to
receive the first of the two warships,
the Vladivostok, last month, but Paris
stalled the consignment.
France has been falling between two
stools, trying to buy more time by
neither breaking the contract in non-
ambiguous terms nor delivering on it.
READ MORE: NATO has no money,
capability to buy out Russia-bound
Mistral warships – source
Both Washington and Brussels have
pressed Paris into suspending the
contract for two Mistral ships -
clearly as part of an ongoing strategy
to pressure Moscow with sanctions
over its perceived involvement in the
Ukrainian crisis.
Meanwhile, France faces a
multibillion-dollar fine if it fails to
deliver, under the terms of the
contract.
Back in September several hundred
protesters gathered in western
France, in the harbor of Saint-
Nazaire, to protest against the French
government's decision to suspend
the delivery of a Mistral warship to
Russia.
People gathered by the docked
Vladivostok were holding banners
that read, "Hollande wants to kill
Saint-Nazaire. We say no,” and “Let's
deliver Mistral and provide our
citizens with job" and "For the victory
of Mistral, for our independence."
http://rt.com/news/208655-mistral-russia-delivery-france/
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RUGI BANDAR