PARIS, November 17 (Sputnik) – The Vladivostok Mistral-class helicopter carrier, built by France for the Russian Navy, is still flying the flag of France, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Romain Nadal said at a press briefing Monday.
On Friday ship-tracking system AIS showed two ships with the same dimensions named Vladivostok moored to the pier in the French city of Saint-Nazaire, one sailing under the Russian flag, and the other under the French one.
"I confirm that the Vladivostok amphibious assault ship is flying the flag of France," Nadal said.
On Sunday, French President Francois Hollande said at a press conference following the G20 summit in Australia that he would not cede to any pressure and decide on the delivery of the Mistral ships to Russia based purely on the interests of France.
In June 2011, Russia signed a 1.2 billion euro ($1.5 billion) deal for two Mistral-class helicopter carrier ships from France. Hollande has threatened to suspend the deliveries of the ships to Russia over Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The handover ceremony of the first carrier, the Vladivostok, was scheduled for November 14 but the event did not take place. A high-ranking defense source told RIA Novosti last week that Russia will wait until the end of November for Paris to hand over the ship before making "serious claims."
In October, Kremlin vowed to sue France if it did not fulfill its delivery obligations on the Mistral carriers.
