Hollande: France will reimburse Russia if warships not delivered
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 22 April 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Hollande: France will reimburse Russia if warships not delivered, 22 April 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5565ba2840.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 22, 2015
French President Francois Hollande (left) said he will discuss the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two meet in Armenia on April 24.
French President Francois Hollande says France will refund payments made by Russia for two Mistral amphibious-assault ships if the warships are not delivered because of Moscow's involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Hollande said in Paris after talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on April 22 that he will discuss the $1.3 billion Mistral deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two meet in Armenia on April 24.
France postponed the delivery of the first warship to Moscow in autumn 2014 in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and the Kremlin's support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Putin said last week that Moscow expected reimbursement if France ultimately does not deliver the warships – each of which can carry 16 helicopters, four landing crafts, 13 tanks, and more than 400 soldiers.
Hollande and Putin will be in Yerevan to mark the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces.
Both France and Russia recognize the killings as genocide.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
