France has indefinitely suspended the previously planned deliver to Russia of the first of two Mistral warships because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and under pressure from Western allies to withhold the ships, according to media reports.
France had said in September it was holding off the fall delivery of the first Mistral helicopter carrying ships, but French President Francois Hollande said in a statement released by his office this week and reported by Reuters that the suspension of delivery would continue “until further notice.”
“The President of the Republic considers that the situation in the east of Ukraine still does not permit the delivery of the first (ship),’ the statement said. Hollande “has therefore decided that it is appropriate to suspend, until further notice, examination of the request for the necessary authorization to export the first (ship) to the Russian Federation.”
France signed a $1.6 billion deal with Russia in 2011 to provide the two warships. France, along with other western nations, including the United States, accuses Russia of provoking and supporting pro-Russian militant rebels in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the charges.
Moscow has threatened to sue if France does not deliver on the contract, but Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told the RIA news agency following the French announcement that those plans would not be pursued for now. He said Russia will “wait patiently.”