Under the current foreign political conditions, the transfer of such powerful offensive military hardware as Mistral-class amphibious assault ships could have far-reaching negative consequences for security and stability in Europe, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis has said.
“As we see from the events related to the Russian occupation of Crimea and the 2008 Russian-Georgian conflict, even the short-term strengthening of Russia’s military presence in the Black Sea basin could put all the countries in the region in an extremely vulnerable situation in the face of possible acts of armed aggression from the side of the Russian Federation,” Perebyinis said at a briefing in Kyiv on Aug. 19.
He said that during the occupation of the Crimea the Russian military group was reinforced by personnel who were transported there in the Baltic Fleet’s large Minsk and Kaliningrad landing ships late in Feb. 2014.
In Aug. 2008, a Russian Black Sea Fleet group, which was engaged in a military action against Georgia, included the Yamal and Saratov landing ships.
“It would be an extremely short-sighted approach to ignore the current conditions of these lessons.
When Russia gets new Mistral-type vessels, the balance of forces in the Black Sea will be fundamentally changed, which will make the countries in the region take measures to anticipate and neutralize new threats. This may not only greatly enhance tensions in the region, but also provoke a new naval arms race and affect the atmosphere of constructive cooperation that had been being built up in the Black Sea over many years,” Perebyinis said.
He expressed the hope that France would listen to the argument of Ukraine and other countries, and will not allow the supply of Mistral-class vessels to Russia.
As was reported, an agreement, which was signed by the Russian and French governments in 2011, stipulates that the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers should be handed over to Russia in 2014. Furthermore, the agreement permits the construction of another two such vessels at shipyards in Russia. Unofficial reports put the cost of each Mistral helicopter carrier at approximately 600 million euros.
The European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russia on July 29, admitting that the measures would not affect any previously signed contracts.
France planned to transfer the first Mistral-class ship to Russia in the fall of 2014. Paris, however, said later that it would honor its obligations if these deliveries were not subject to EU sanctions.
The termination by France of the contract for the supply of the vessels may cost it over 1 billion euros.
