Moscow - A Russian delegation which was supposed to attend the November 14 ceremony transferring the first Mistral-class helicopter carrier built at French shipyards to Russia is not leaving Moscow for now, a source in an organization involved in military-technological cooperation told Interfax-AVN on Nov. 13.
“There has been no confirmation that the ship will be transferred on Nov. 14, so it has been decided to not send the delegation to Saint Nazaire,” the source noted.
According to the source, the Russian delegation comprises officials of the Defense Ministry, Rosoboronexport, the United Shipbuilding Corporation and some other entities.
“Most probably, the French side will present this situation as a force majeure circumstance and use its right to postpone the transfer for three months,” he said.
The contract allows for this possibility, but the delay has to derive from technical problems with helicopter ship trials or commissioning rather than a political situation, he explained.
