The protracted “What happens to France’s two unwanted Mistrals” saga has seemingly drawn to a close with the agreement by Egypt late last month to acquire the highly capable amphibious assault ships (LHDs) for a total of €950 million. A number of commentators have argued that the rationale behind this eyebrow-raising decision is for Egypt to attain a maritime power-projection capability so as to hedge against rising Islamist violence in the region and a resurgent Iran. Indeed, one prominent defense journalist wrote of Egypt using the French-made Mistrals to quell trouble in neighboring hot-spots. In the same vein, another commentator spoke of the vessels giving their owners the ability to conduct expeditionary missions with significant ground and aerial assets.
That being said, the aforementioned statements are based on the assumption that Cairo would be able to effectively deploy the two ships in the first place. This is highly contentious, at least in the near term, for a number of reasons. They include Egypt’s dearth of experience in large amphibious-vessel and naval aviation operations, among others.
TASS says Egypt has agreed to buy over 50 Ka-52 naval helicopters that Russia had produce to deploy on the Mistral helicopter carriers.
anada was actively pursuing -- at the political level -- the possible acquisition of the controversial French-built Mistral-class helicopter carriers, several defence, diplomatic and military industry sources have told The Canadian Press.
The effort has ground to halt, however, largely because of the federal election campaign -- and it may slip away entirely because the French are now in a position to entertain bids from other countries for the 22,000-tonne ships, originally built for Russia.
The original deal was cancelled because of Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its ongoing support of anti-government forces in eastern Ukraine, but it was only last month that the French government concluded a US $1.01 billion refund agreement, a plan that was approved Thursday by the lower house of the French National Assembly.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly, say Defence Minister Jason Kenney was -- until the election call --"actively engaged" in sounding out the French, including a face-to-face exchange at the most recent NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels last June.
France has offered Russia its terms to scrap a contentious contract to supply two warships that was suspended due to the Ukraine crisis, but Moscow judged the sum as unacceptable, a report said Friday.
Russian defense sources told Kommersant newspaper that the French side is willing to pay €785 million ($890 million), and the documents are now "being studied" by the Russian government, defense ministry and other relevant parties which participated in the 2011 deal.
But the daily reported that Moscow was not happy with the French offer, with the defense ministry claiming that Russian firms have now incurred 1.16 billion euros of costs associated with the ships.
The fate of the two Mistral helicopter carriers has plagued French-Russia ties for over a year, following the decision by Paris to put the 1.2 billion euro deal on ice as the West slapped sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and alleged backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine.
Hundreds of Russian sailors pulled out of a French port Thursday, bearing perfumes for their loved ones but lacking the controversial bounty they came for: a 1-billion-euro, French-built warship that has become a hostage to the biggest East-West conflict since the Cold War.
The Vladivostok helicopter carrier is part of a strange and divisive arms deal now on hold — and perhaps on the verge of collapse — because of the conflict in Ukraine. France built it for Russia's navy but is now having second thoughts, notably amid heavy U.S. criticism of the deal.
After months training on the ship, the Russian sailors left the port town of Saint-Nazaire empty-handed. The ship, painted with Cyrillic letters reading "VLADIVOSTOK," floats in a dock, unused. A second ship meant to be part of the deal is there, too, an expensive diplomatic embarrassment.
Russia has given the French government a choice, either deliver the two promised Mistral-class amphibious warships to the Russian Navy or refund the purchase price of the $1.53 billion program, a Russian foreign policy official told reporters on Monday.
“Both options will suit us — either the ships or the money. The money spent must be recovered,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Monday, following a quickly organized Saturday meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President François Hollande in the Moscow airport.
Delivery of the two custom built variants of the 21,000-ton French Mistral amphibious warships to Russia has been stalled by the Hollande government since September over concerns of the ongoing fighting between Russian backed separatists and the Ukrainian government.
Hollande said the delivery of the two ships would be tied to the implementation of the so-called Minsk Protocol — a September ceasefire agreement between separatists, Russia and Ukraine.
“The delivery of the helicopter carriers to Russia is connected with implementation of the Minsk accords,” Hollande said according to French newspaper Le Figaro.
The French government is suspending a deal to deliver two Mistral-class warships to the Russian Navy “until further notice” citing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, according to a Tuesday statement from the office of President François Hollande.
In response, Russian defense officials have pledged to take legal action against France if the Hollande government does not reverse its stance, according to Russian media.
“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,” read a translation of the statement from Élysée Palace.
“He has decided that it is appropriate to suspend, until further notice, the examination of the request for export authorization for the first [Mistral] to the Russian Federation.”
