Paris Obliged to Negotiate Mistral Resale With Moscow

Under the terms of the contract, Russia has the right to not agree with the resale of the Mistral-class helicopter carriers or delay approval for any period of time due to the fact that the contract does not identify any deadline.

Paris is obliged to discuss with Moscow potential buyers of the two French Mistral-class helicopter carriers, a source in the Russian government said.

"Approval of a particular buyer is obligatory for France. We have the right to disapprove [the proposed buyer]. Moreover, the agreement does not indicate the deadline for such an approval", the source told reporters, adding that the process can last for an unlimited period of time.

In early August, Paris terminated the contract and suspended the delivery of two ships to Russia due to Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. Brazil, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Canada, UAE and South Africa were afterwards mentioned among other possible buyers.

Last week, a senior official of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation told RIA Novosti that Moscow has not yet given permission to resell the ships to third countries. In order to get this permission, France has to give Russia information about potential buyers of ships, the official stressed.