Russia Will Issue Deadline In French Mistral Helicopter Carrier Delivery

France has to deliver the first Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia by the end of this month or else face serious legal consequences; a high ranking source in Moscow was quoted as saying by Sputnik Friday.

“We are preparing for different variations. We’ll wait until the end of the month, and then we’ll make serious claims,” the source told Sputnik.

DCNS may have unwittingly given Russia cause to sue the French company over the non-delivery Mistral-class helicopter carrier after its Project Director wrote a letter inviting the Russian Navy to take delivery of the ship.

Yves Destefanis, the project director responsible for delivering Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia was sacked on November 4 after contents of the letter became public.

The delivery of the helicopter carrier has been under dispute with France insisting that the delivery of the ships would be dependent on two conditions: an observed ceasefire in Ukraine and a political settlement of the conflict.

France is reportedly examining the sale contract particularly the force majeure clause that allows France to suspend and cancel the contract in the event of circumstances beyond its control such as an act of war or a natural calamity.

Russia is considering a bringing a lawsuit against France if Paris refuses to honor a contract on construction of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov said in October.

"We will file a lawsuit and demand compensation [if the contract is not fulfilled], as it's commonly done in a civilized world," Ivanov said. "It's up to Paris to decide whether to honor the contract or not," Russian Navy, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov had said in October. "We share long-running history of Russian-French relations, and we would not want to see these relations being sacrificed for the sake of fleeting [political] trends.”

Russia and France signed a 1.2 billion euro ($1.5 billion at the current exchange rate) deal for two Mistral-class ships in June 2011.