Russia May Sue France Over Non-delivery of Warships
Russia will take France to court within six months over its failure to deliver the first of two Mistral-class warships to the Russian navy, the Russian Defense Minister has said.
“There is a contract, so everything must be strictly complied with,” Sergei Shoigu said. “If the contract is abused, naturally a lawsuit follows.”
The dates there are split into three parts. The first one is in January, and it has already been done. It was an explanation why [the contract has not been fulfilled]. The other dates are three and six months, he added.
The Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation issued a warning notice to France on Jan. 13 after the delivery of the Vladivostok, scheduled to be delivered in late 2014, and the Sevastopol, set to be handed over in 2015, failed to materialize.
Last month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said his country will no longer order ready-made military equipment from abroad. "Current situation with Mistral helicopter carriers demonstrates the malignance of technological dependence on a foreign country," Rogozin said.
France suspended indefinitely the delivery of the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia last November because of the continued Ukraine crisis and Russia's alleged role in supporting independence-seeking insurgents in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian state-controlled arms trader Rosoboronexport and the French company DCNS signed a contract on the construction of the first two Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy in June 2011.
The first warship — the Vladivostok — was to be handed over to Russia in autumn 2014, but the French side postponed the delivery citing the conflict in Ukraine. The second Mistral helicopter carrier — the Sevastopol — was floated out in November. Under the contract, the Russian Fleet is to receive it in 2015.
France’s penalty may amount to around EUR3 billion, some media reports said.
