ALABINO (Moscow Region), August 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is still interested in France delivering the Mistral helicopter carriers commissioned under a previously agreed contract despite Western sanctions against Moscow, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said Monday.
"When the contract was being signed, we were interested. The situation has not changed," Borisov said, adding that if France did not fulfil the contract, it would have to pay cancellation fees.
"Everything is spelled out in our contract. If they do not deliver, according to the contract’s conditions, they will have to pay cancellation fees," Borisov said.
Russia and France signed a $1.6 billion deal for two Mistral-class helicopter carriers in June 2011. Under the contract, the first ship, the Vladivostok, is to be delivered to Russia by the end of the year, while the second, the Sevastopol, is due in 2015.
However, the contract came into question after the European Union imposed additional sanctions against Russia last week, following several previous rounds, due to Russia's alleged role in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
After a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crashed over eastern Ukraine last month, the West blamed Russia for supplying militia forces in the region with weapons that could have been used to shoot down the plane, which had 298 people on board. The United States imposed sectoral sanctions, including against the Russian defense sector, and the European Union followed up with its own restrictions, which have so far largely been targeted against the financial sector.
The Mistral vessels, which are expected to be deployed in Russia’s Pacific Fleet, are capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 70 armored vehicles and 450 soldiers each.
Russia is also planning to complete the construction of a Mistral-class carrier base in the country's Far East port of Vladivostok by the fall of 2015. The base would be a complex with garrisons, service support and fueling facilities.
