MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) – Paris is more interested in resolving the issue of Mistral helicopter carrier deliveries, than Moscow, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti Monday.
"Russia has commented more than once on the issue of the fulfillment by the French side of its Mistral contract obligations. But there is always some kind of information chaos created around this issue, despite its legal simplicity, which testifies to the fact that Paris is a lot more interested in a positive resolution of the issue than Moscow," the source said.
In June 2011, Russia and France signed a 1.2 billion euro ($1.5 billion) deal for two Mistral-class helicopter carrier ships. The first carrier, the Vladivostok, was scheduled to arrive in Russia by the end of 2014. The second ship, the Sevastopol, is expected in 2015.
Earlier in September, French President Francois Hollande threatened to suspend the deliveries of the ships over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
In October, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov claimed that Moscow will sue France in case the obligations on the Mistral carriers are not fulfilled. Last week, the Russian Navy said the country is not dependent on France on the issue and is capable of building similar warships on its own.
