You're reading: French Embassy dismisses reports of Mistral handover on Nov 4

MOSCOW - The French Embassy in Moscow has not confirmed the reports about a handover of a Mistral class helicopter carrier to Russia in Saint-Nazaire on Nov. 4.

 “We cannot confirm this information,” a source in the embassy told Interfax, commenting on media reports about handover of the helicopter carrier to Russia on Nov. 4.

Paris sticks to the position outlined by President Francois Hollande at a press conference on Sept. 18, the source said.

The French leader said at the time that the first Mistral class carrier could only be handed over by France to Russia if the ceasefire in east Ukraine holds.

“But this is not the case yet,” he told the press conference in Paris.

It was reported that Russian state arms trader Rosoboronexport and France’s DCNS signed a contract to build two Mistral-class helicopter carriers in June 2011. The Vladivostok carrier was scheduled to be shipped this fall.