France refunds Russia for Mistral warships

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) France has reached an agreement with Russia over the termination of a 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) contract for the sale of two French warships.

A statement released Wednesday by the French President's Office said: "France will fully refund Russia for the amount the country has already paid."

Moscow issued a similar statement Wednesday confirming that the deal has been revoked and the refund has been issued.

The Paris statement said: "France and Russia have reached an agreement to terminate the contract signed in 2011 which included the delivery of two warships of Mistral type."

Paris said that under this agreement Russian equipment that were installed on the vessels will be restored and "France will have full ownership and free disposal of it".

The statement said both French President Francois Hollande and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "agreed on the fact that now this matter was closed".

Similarly, the Russian President's official website said: "France has already transferred the refund and once the equipment is returned, it will obtain ownership of both ships and be able to use them. Moscow considers the Mistral issue to be fully resolved."

The contract between Russia and France to deliver two Mistral helicopter carriers was signed between the French company DCNS and Russia's Rosoboronexport in 2011 and approved by then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The deal is the first contract that a NATO member country signed to supply Russia with military equipment.