Egypt signs deal with France on two Mistral warships

Egypt has signed a deal with France to buy two warships that were originally ordered by Russia but whose sale was canceled by Paris due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The contract was signed on Saturday by the French naval yard DCNS and the Egyptian military in the presence of French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for the sale of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers.

The sale of the warships was first announced by French President Francois Hollande on September 23.

Back in 2011, Russia had ordered the vessels, which can each carry 16 helicopters, four landing craft and 13 tanks, in a 1.2-billion-euro (USD 1.4 billion) deal.

France, however, decided to scrap the contract, as ties between Russia and the West soured over the issue of Ukraine, where the eastern region of Crimea rejoined the Russian Federation after a referendum in March 2014. The West blames Moscow for the deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine. Paris later returned 949.7 million euros that Russia had already paid.

According to French government sources, Cairo would pay 950 million euros (USD 1 billion) for the vessels, with “significant” Saudi financing.

The French Defense Ministry said in September that the Mistrals will be delivered in early March 2016 and that the contract provides for four months training in France for about 400 Egyptian sailors.

Growing France-Egypt ties

The deal is the second major military contract this year between France and Egypt.

In February, Egypt signed a 5.2-billion-euro deal for 24 of the multi-role combat jets and a frigate to become the first foreign buyer of France's Rafale warplanes.

The signing of the deal comes as the French prime minister arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Saturday at the start of an Arab tour that will also take him to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

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