France cancels delivery of warships to Russia
The French have cancelled the delivery of two warships, the first half of a four-ship deal with Russia, as evidence of Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine continues to grow and peace seems to grow more elusive.
France 24, citing remarks by French President Francois Hollande, reports that the French government claimed the sale would be inappropriate because the "conditions" needed for the French to be comfortable with the deal are "not in place."
The announcement came just a day before a NATO summit meeting in Newport, Wales in the United Kingdom. The meeting will bring together the heads of the military alliance's member nations. The meeting is expected to be heavily focused on Russia. It is also expected the meeting will lead to the creation of a 4,000 strong rapid response force for Eastern Europe, according to various media reports.
Although President Hollande said that the delivery of the ships would not take place as scheduled, the French Foreign Ministry left open the possibility that the ships could still be delivered in the future, according to French 24.
The ships are Mistral-class amphibious assault ships. Russia ordered four, and the first was to be delivered in Oct. or Nov. 2014. Around 400 Russian sailors are currently in France to learn how to operate the vessel. The contract for the first two ships is valued at $1.6 billion.
The BBC reports that violating the contract agreement for the ship's delivery may end up costing France $1.3 billion because that is how much Russia has already paid for the ships. If France does not deliver, they will have to refund Russia the money. France would also have to pay a penalty of $326 million for breaching the original contractual agreement to manufacture and deliver the warships.
