Poland Invites Airbus to Talks on Helicopters Deliveries

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz invited three entities, including French company Airbus, that took part in the recent proceedings on the issue of choice of multirole helicopters.

WARSAW (Sputnik) — Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz invited three companies, including French company Airbus, to participate in the negotiations on recent scandal related to Warsaw's plans to buy multirole helicopters, the Polish Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

On October 4, Poland's Development Ministry ended the talks on the purchase of 50 Caracal helicopters for 13.5 billion zlotys (about $3.5 billion at the current exchange rates) citing different positions of the two sides. Airbus Group head Tom Enders responded by saying that his company would demand compensation.

"The defense minister invited three entities that took part in the recent proceedings on the issue of choice of multirole helicopters. The invitation to the talks had been sent to PLZ Mielec, PLZ Swidnik and Airbus," the statement said.

PLZ Mielec and PLZ Swidnik are Polish aircraft manufacturers located in the towns of Mielec and Swidnik, respectively.

The decision to buy helicopters from Airbus was made by the previous Polish government, led by the center-right, pro-European party Civic Platform, as part of plans to modernize the military sector. The original deal was heavily criticized by trade unions in two Polish aviation plants. The conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government indicated it might cancel the deal after it won elections last year.