The two French-built Mistral-class warships will be delivered to the Russian Navy and will not be affected by the current EU sanctions imposed amid the Ukrainian crisis, RIA Novosti wrote today.
French Permanent Representative to the UN, Gerard Araud, said that the ships were not affected by the sanctions for now, but if there were new sanctions they should be respected.
The Mistral class is a class of three amphibious assault ships, also known as helicopter carriers, of the French and Russian navies. This class of ships is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90s or Tiger helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles including 13 AMX-56 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers.
The deal for the two ships for the Russian Navy was announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 24 December 2010, and signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and French Defence Minister Alain Juppé on 25th of January 2011.
[mappress] Press Release, April 30, 2014; Image: Wikimedia