Following eight months of negotiations, there was no clarity on the amount that France must pay Moscow for the non-delivery of the helicopter carriers, a Russian official was quoted as saying by the state news agency RIA Novosti. It covers the advance payment and additional costs Moscow incurred during crew training, creating infrastructure to station vessels in Vladivostok and developing four preproduction prototypes of the Ka-52K helicopters.
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‘I hope we will sign the agreement on the termination of the contract as soon as possible.’.
Vladimir Kozhin, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin, confirmed that a refund deal was reached but would not reveal the figure.
But Paris has come under pressure from its Western allies not to complete the order because of Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis.
President Francois Hollande’s office declined to comment, as did DCNS, one of the main contractors building the Mistrals.
Hollande said earlier this year that the conditions for the delivery were “still not right” and suggested that only the full implementation of a tenuous ceasefire in eastern Ukraine could make Paris revisit the situation.
The deal was clinched last week at talks between Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin and French Defence Secretary-General Louis Gautier, Kommersant reports.
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Though countless workforce that had established the Mistrals complained the choice, French Defense Minister Jeanis thatYves Le Drian said in November that in fact France won’t provide the Mistrals to effectively Russian Federation, though it price the nation €1.two billion.
