France postpones Mistral delivery to Russia over Ukraine 'until further notice'

Mistral class LHD amphibious vessel (AFP Photo)

President Francois Hollande has decided to suspend delivery of the first Mistral-class ship to Russia "until further notice," citing the situation in Ukraine as the reason, media reported an Elysee Palace statement.

Le président @fhollande considère que la situation en Ukraine ne permet toujours pas la livraison du premier #Mistral pic.twitter.com/lTaawd9jSg

— Élysée (@Elysee) November 25, 2014

"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," a statement from the Elysée Palace said.

In this regard, Francois Hollande felt it necessary to postpone the new order to study the request for permission to supply Russia with the first Mistral vessel, the communique informed.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said it will patiently wait for the fulfillment of the contract, RIA Novosti reports.

However, Russia will act “strictly according to the contract,” and will sue France should the ship not be delivered at all, Borisov warned.

"If [France] won't deliver [Mistral], we’ll sue and impose penalties. The behavior of the Russian side is strictly regulated by the signed contract," he explained, as cited by TASS.

Moscow has previously pledged to make financial claims to France if the first of two Mistral warships is not delivered by the end of November. The warning came from a high-ranking source and was made public earlier this month by RIA Novosti.

"We are preparing for different scenarios. We are waiting until the end of the month [the fulfillment of Mistral deal], then we will make serious claims," the source said on condition of anonymity.

France already missed a mid-November deadline for handing over the first of the amphibious assault ships to Russia.

On November 16, one of the France’s biggest union federations, Workers’ Force, called on Paris to fulfill the Mistral deal and deliver the two warships to Russia, otherwise 2,500 shipyard employees may lose their jobs.

Le Figaro reported that the union expressed "shock and outrage" after Paris put off the delivery due to pressure from the US and EU, which imposed several waves of sanctions against Moscow after Crimea joined Russia amid the Ukraine crisis.

Russia and France signed a €1.12 billion ($1.6 billion) contract for two Mistral-class ships back in June 2011.

Under the deal, Russia was due to receive the first of the two warships, the Vladivostok, last month, but Paris stalled the consignment.

France has been falling between two stools, trying to buy more time by neither breaking the contract in non-ambiguous terms nor delivering on it.

Both Washington and Brussels have pressed Paris into suspending the contract for two Mistral ships - clearly as part of an ongoing strategy to pressure Moscow with sanctions over its perceived involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.

Meanwhile, France faces a multibillion-dollar fine if it fails to deliver, under the terms of the contract.

Back in September several hundred protesters gathered in western France, in the harbor of Saint-Nazaire, to protest against the French government's decision to suspend the delivery of a Mistral warship to Russia.

People gathered by the docked Vladivostok were holding banners that read, "Hollande wants to kill Saint-Nazaire. We say no,” and “Let's deliver Mistral and provide our citizens with job" and "For the victory of Mistral, for our independence."

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog