Hollande Puts Delivery Of The Mistral Warship To Russia On Hold

Russian state-owned news service Sputnik News is reporting that French President François Hollande has postponed the sale of Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Moscow.

Here's the tweet:

BREAKING: Hollande puts delivery of first #Mistral warship to Russia on hold

- Sputnik (@SputnikInt) November 25, 2014

The news comes after French minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Laurent Fabius, tweeted earlier on Tuesday that the conditions for the sale of the Mistral ships to Russia have not been met:

Sur la vente des Mistral à la Russie : Les conditions d'une livraison ne sont pas réunies @franceinter

- Laurent Fabius (@LaurentFabius) November 25, 2014

Reports in Russian media suggested that Moscow had given its French partners in the deal until the end of the month to hand over the first of two warships on order, or else it would seek "serious claims" for breach of contract. That deadline now looks under threat, despite news on Monday that a provisional date of November 27th had been agreed by both sides for the handover.

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