Presidents of Russia and France plan to meet in Armenia’s capital city
Presidents of Russia and France plan to meet in Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan, where the issue of two French helicopter carriers, which Paris has promised but failed to deliver to Russia, may be raised.
The Kremlin press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, are to meet in Armenia on April 24, Interfax reported.
Peskov said the French side may highlight the fulfillment of the contract for the delivery of the Mistral carriers to Russia.
"A Russian-French summit in Yerevan is being prepared," he said, noting that the Mistral issue may be touched upon at the meeting.
"Concerning the Mistral delivery, most probably, that is an issue for the French side to deal with as this side has been paid by the customer but has not fulfilled its commitments. So, if the French side highlights this issue it will definitely be discussed," Peskov added.
In line with the contract, France has to deliver to Russia two Mistral-class helicopter carriers it has built for Moscow. The first of the two assault ships -- which can carry 16 helicopters, four landing crafts, 13 tanks, 450 soldiers and a hospital -- was supposed to be delivered in November last year, according to the original deal signed in 2011.
France has delayed delivering the vessels to Russia, citing the situation in Ukraine. Ukraine’s eastern regions have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russians and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations there in mid-April 2014. Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of arming the pro-Russia forces, an allegation Moscow denies.
Last year, Russia warned France its failure to act on a bilateral contract to deliver a warship ordered by Moscow posed risk to Paris’ reputation.
“I am a little fed-up with this question. It is not our problem anymore. It is a problem of France’s reputation. They have to fulfill all the obligations under the contract,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
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