There are no comments.
Two Mistral-class helicopter carriers Sevastopol (R) and Vladivostok are seen in this picture taken May 21, 2015 at the STX Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France. Reuters
AFP/Paris
French President Francois Hollande said Wednesday Egypt had agreed to buy two Mistral warships which France built for Russia before scrapping the sale over the Ukraine crisis.
The deal is the second big military contract this year between France and Egypt, which Hollande said he increasingly views as a strategic partner.
"It was my preferred buyer because we already have military cooperation with Egypt," Hollande said of the deal he struck with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
"Egypt plays an important role in the Middle East and wants to move towards a democratic transition, which is not easy, and we should support their efforts."
French government sources said Egypt would pay 950 million euros ($1 billion) for the warships, with "significant" financing from Saudi Arabia.
The two warships, which can each carry 16 helicopters, four landing craft and 13 tanks, were ordered by Russia in 2011 in a 1.2-billion-euro deal.
France found itself in an awkward situation as the delivery date neared in 2014, with ties between Russia and the West plunging to Cold War lows over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Paris faced the wrath of its allies around the world if it were to deliver the technology to Russia, and decided to cancel the delivery.
It was an expensive decision for France, which has had to foot the bill of over one billion euros for the upkeep of the ships and the cost of training 400 Russian sailors to crew them.
After months of intense negotiations, France and Russia agreed on the reimbursement of the deal in August.
Paris returned 949.7 million euros which had already been paid and also committed not to sell the two warships to a country that could "contravene Russia's interests", such as Poland or the Baltic states, a diplomatic source told AFP.
Several other countries were said to be interested in the warships, including Canada, India and Singapore.
The defence ministry source who revealed the cost of the ships said they were due to be delivered to Egypt in March.
The deal comes after Egypt became the first foreign buyers of France's Rafale fighter jet, agreeing to purchase 24 in February, in what Paris hailed as an "historic" accord.
The 5.2-billion-euro ($5.9 billion) sale of the planes and a frigate was a rare triumph for France which had failed to export its flagship multi-role combat jet.
There are no comments.
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.