MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) – Conditions have not yet been met for the handover of the Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin was quoted as saying Thursday by Agence France-Presse.
"The conditions today are not met to deliver the Mistral," Sapin said, the agency reported.
Earlier this week, an unnamed source in the French Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti that the agreement for the delivery of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers had been suspended, but not annulled, and the final decision on the deliveries was to be made by the French political leadership.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday that state arms exporter Rosoboronexport had already been invited to France on November 14 to attend the handover ceremony of the first Mistral carrier.
Russia and France signed a deal for two Mistral-class carriers delivery in June 2011, with the first vessel expected to arrive by the end of 2014 and the second one in 2015.
However, the deal has been in jeopardy since the West began imposing economic sanctions on Russia because of its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, which it repeatedly denied, with French President Francois Hollande warning in October that France might suspend the delivery of the warships.
Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said in October Russia would sue France if the country failed to meet its contract obligations. The Russian Navy in its turn said that if France failed to deliver its obligations, Russia was able to build Mistral-class carriers itself.
