France Folds; Suspends Shipment Of Russian Warship – NATO Allies Pleased

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France Folds; Suspends Shipment Of Russian Warship – NATO Allies Pleased (ZeroHedge, Sep 3,  2014):

France is suspending the delivery of the 1st of 2 hulking Mistral warships to Russia amid security concerns about Moscow’s actions in neighboring Ukraine, AP reports President Francois Hollande’s office said Wednesday. Hollande’s change of mind – as he begs Draghi to devalue the EUR and Schaeuble to lift the deficit limits in Europe – comes at a time when the French economy can hardly cope with losing a few billion (which he previously said was too costly to cancel) but as he explains, Russia’s recent actions harm “the foundations of security in Europe.” We will see what Hollande got for this… or how he was blackmailed – but for now NATO allies have commented that they “welcome the French Mistral sale suspension.”

Despite a possible cease-fire in Ukraine, “the conditions that would allow France to authorize the delivery of the first Mistral-class ship aren’t met as of now, ” the Elysée Presidential Palace said in a statement released after a gathering of country’s defense council around Mr. Hollande.

As AP reports,

France is suspending the delivery of a hulking warship to Russia amid security concerns about Moscow’s actions in neighboring Ukraine, President Francois Hollande’s office said Wednesday.

The announcement comes a day before the start of a NATO summit and after months of pressure on France from allies to suspend the sale amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Hollande’s office, in a statement after he met with top defense advisers, called the fighting in eastern Ukraine “grave,” and said Russia’s recent actions harm “the foundations of security in Europe.”

The Vladivostok, the first of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers ordered by Russia, was to be delivered next month. The second — named Sevastopol, ironically, after a port in Russian-annexed Crimea — has been slated for delivery next year.

Despite talk Wednesday of a possible cease-fire in Ukraine, Hollande said that’s not enough to allow France to authorize the delivery of the Vladivostok. His office made no mention of the second warship.

As recently as July, Hollande said the deal was too costly to cancel, and even this week, his advisers had indicated that France was ready to go ahead with the first delivery. In July, the president said that the Russians had paid for the ship, and France would have to reimburse 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) if it cancelled the delivery.

Unyielding to months of pressure from allies — including from some U.S. senators — French officials had argued that France needed to respect an agreed contract, and said recent sanctions against Russia didn’t apply retroactively to the contract agreed three years ago.

French officials have also argued that the ship would be delivered without any weapons.

And Bloomberg notes:

  • *NATO OFFICIAL: ALLIES TO WELCOME FRENCH MISTRAL SALE SUSPENSION

*  *  *

How long before France gets special exemption on running bigger deficits?

2 thoughts on “France Folds; Suspends Shipment Of Russian Warship – NATO Allies Pleased”

  1. The Eurozone was benefiting E120 billion a year from Russia. This stupid act will cause Putin to suspend trade with them. I don’t think the Eurozone leaders understand what Putin has done…….he has created an identical financial system with other nations…….Russia can go to China for weapons and warships…..China needs the money. As for food and electronics, Brazil and India will serve nicely…….
    I am shocked to see the Eurozone leaders are as oblivious as US leaders.
    Wait and see. The Eurozone needs Russian gas, Russia can sell it elsewhere……this is beyond insane…..it is stupid.
    Why France would side with the US is beyond me….the US does not bring anything like E120 billion a year to the Eurozone.

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  2. Isn’t France the Euro country whose entire government collapsed because of this clown, Hollande? He is totally despised by the people, and cannot get his own government to work with him.
    He is a sold out jerk. Hope France has a way to throw his ass out of office before he brings ruin to the entire Eurozone. The nations in the Eurozone are all deeply in debt, and none can afford a financial war with Russia.
    The more I think about this, the more unlikely it seems.
    This clown has to go. The Obama mad on for Putin needs to be nipped in the bud, there is no real reason for it except Putin would not let him attack Syria. Since then, unable to build any allies or a coalition, he is down to financial wars.
    If the Euro or US gets into a financial war with Russia (BRICS), both will lose miserably. We don’t need it, we have suffered in a vicious recession since 2008……nearly as long as the entire Great Depression, with no hope of recovery in sight.

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