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Impossible to Resell Mistral Warships Designed for Russian Navy: Official

Sputnik News

12:27 24.12.2014(updated 17:54 24.12.2014)

It is technically impossible to sell Mistral-class helicopter carriers made for Russia to third parties because the design was developed specifically for the Russian Navy.

MOSCOW, December 24 (Sputnik) – France will not be able to resell the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to a third country because they were designed specifically for the Russian Navy, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday.

'As a whole, these two ships are being built under the exclusive technical parameters of the Russian Navy, they can't be used after selling them to third countries because it's simply technically impossible,' Rogozin said during an interview on Rossiya-24 television.

Under a $1.5 billion contract signed in June 2011, France was to deliver two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to the Russian Navy.

The handover of the first carrier, the Vladivostok, was originally scheduled for November 14, but France overran the deadline, with French President Francois Hollande citing the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine as the cause for the cancellation of the deal. Moscow has repeatedly denied its alleged involvement in the conflict.

Russia has repeatedly condemned France's failure to deliver on its contractual obligations, saying Paris would have to pay a large penalty if the deal were canceled.

Earlier this week, Russia's presidential administration head Sergei Ivanov stated that the country's military capabilities would not suffer if the France did not deliver the ships. He added that Moscow would be satisfied if the ships were delivered or if it got its money back.

Last week Russian sailors based in the French port of Saint-Nazaire since June training to operate the vessels returned to Russia. They were initially expected to remain there until the first vessel, the Vladivostok, was handed over to the Russian Navy, according to a Russian military source.

© Sputnik