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France Postpones Delivery of Warship to Russia France Postpones Delivery of Warship to Russia
(about 4 hours later)
France threw a highly contentious arms deal with Russia into doubt on Wednesday over the Ukraine crisis, saying that it was premature to schedule the delivery of a sophisticated French-built warship to the Russian Navy. PARIS — France threw a highly contentious arms deal with Russia into doubt on Wednesday over the Ukraine crisis, saying it was premature to schedule the delivery of a sophisticated French-built warship to the Russian Navy.
A statement issued by President François Hollande’s office said he had told a meeting of ministers that despite a possible cease-fire in Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, the conditions for France to deliver the first warship had not yet been met. President François Hollande, in a statement, said he had decided that, despite the prospects of a possible cease-fire in Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, “the conditions for France to deliver the first warship are not to date in place.”
Mr. Hollande also called the situation in Ukraine “grave” and said that Russia’s recent actions in eastern Ukraine were against “the foundations of security in Europe.” The decision was one of the most concrete indications yet of the willingness of Western governments to become more assertive in confronting Russia over Ukraine, despite concerns that the European economy, already weakening, could be further hurt by a showdown with Russia.
France has been widely criticized over its plans to proceed with the $1.6 billion sale of two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, which can carry troops, landing craft and helicopters. France had insisted on completing the sale even as Russia seized and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March and supported the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. The European Union is expected to announce another round of economic sanctions against Moscow this week despite indications from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that there is room for a cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and the separatists battling them with Russian support in eastern Ukraine.
The first vessel was to be delivered to Russia later this year. Russian sailors have been in France since the beginning of the summer for training on the ship’s operation. Mr. Hollande’s announcement came as the heads of the NATO allies were preparing to meet in Wales on Thursday to discuss how to deal with Russia’s increasingly aggressive behavior.
Mr. Hollande’s announcement came as the heads of the NATO allies were preparing to meet in Wales to discuss how to deal with Russia’s increasingly aggressive behavior. France had agreed in 2011 to a $1.6 billion deal to build two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships for the Russia Navy and to train the Russians in operating them. The warships are designed to carry up to 30 helicopters, 60 armored vehicles, 13 tanks and 700 soldiers.
The United States has expressed concern for years about the Mistral sale to Russia, which has its roots in a 2009 decision by Mr. Hollande’s predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, to propose the deal as part of his plan to help France’s troubled shipbuilding industry. In June, more than 400 Russian sailors arrived in Saint-Nazaire, a shipbuilding city on the Atlantic coast southwest of Paris, to begin training on the Vladivostok, the first of the two warships. The Vladivostok was scheduled for delivery this fall, while the second ship, the Sevastopol, was due for delivery next year.
In a visit to Washington in May, two months after Russia annexed Crimea, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France said the Mistral sale reflected an appropriate balance between “dialogue and firmness” in dealings with the Kremlin. Secretary of State John Kerry told Mr. Fabius that the deal was not helpful and should be prevented, State Department officials said at the time. It was unclear from Mr. Hollande’s statement whether the delay would affect the training of the Russian sailors or other work on the ships. The statement also did not specify when or under what conditions the government might revisit its decision to delay the delivery.
In a recent interview in the newspaper Le Monde, Mr. Hollande, speaking about the possibility of delaying the delivery of the warships, acknowledged that “if there was additional tension and it was impossible to find a way out, we would have to think about it.”
Russia sought to play down the significance of the delay. “The Defense Ministry doesn’t see any tragedy in this, though, of course, it is unpleasant and lays certain tension on our cooperation with the French partners,” the deputy defense minister, Yuri Borisov, was quoted as saying by Russia’s state-run news agency Itar-Tass. “But a rejection of this contract won’t be any tragedy for us in regard of the rearmament plan and implementation of the state armament program.”
The United States, which has long expressed concern about the Mistral sale, welcomed the French decision.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., before traveling to Wales for the NATO meeting, called the delay “pretty significant,” and described it as another example of how Russia’s actions in Ukraine had isolated the Kremlin. Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, told reporters at the daily briefing in Washington that France had made “a wise decision.”
Despite growing concerns from the United States and Germany, France had until now insisted on completing the sale even as Russia seized and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March and supported the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Sevastopol, the second warship’s namesake, is in Crimea.
The 2011 deal was viewed as a triumph in Saint-Nazaire, where the shipyards had fallen on hard times and the unemployment rate has been running about 14 percent. Half of the workers at the main shipbuilder, STX France — some 2,500 employees — were put on reduced hours in 2009.