It
would mark quite a turn in the well-known Mistral Saga. Signed during Sarkozy’s
tenure, the ship has become a test of not only France’s relationship with
Russia but also a test of the independence of its foreign policy.
Sadly,
the souring economic relations with Russia have put France’s agriculture sector
in ruin, while the latter has caused France to lose its face in the
international arena as the most unreliable partner with whom it is risky to
sign trade, business or defense deals in good faith.
Not
only France had to reimburse Russia the money it received for the ships, it also
has to dismantle the ships as the communications and missile control systems have
to be returned to Russia which manufactured them.
France
cannot sell the ships with Russian equipment aboard. And, without those equipments,
the ships are nothing but just a piece of floating scrap metal.
Well,
it is quite a loss, a price one has to necessarily pay for being a vassal state
of US.
But
all the crises have a silver lining. And, so does Mistral Saga, it seems.
Consider
this report….
|
A
French official cited by defense news website 'Defense One' said that Moscow
has signaled that Russian telecommunications and missile control systems
installed onboard the Mistral helicopter carriers may not be removed, if
Egypt or India were to purchase the warships.
The
unnamed official indicated that Russian officials had "let it be
known" that Moscow "could accept India and Egypt receiving the
equipment" if either of the two countries were to buy the ships,
originally ordered by Russia in 2011 in a botched deal which has since forced
Paris to refund Russia €949.7 million over the contract's cancellation.
France
is now in the process of attempting to sell the carriers to a new buyer, with
Egypt said to be the leading prospective buyer. Last week, French officials
announced that a deal with Egypt "is among the serious options" for
the ships' sale.
Along
with Egypt and India, several other countries, including Brazil, Malaysia,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates had signaled
their interest in the amphibious assault ships. According to unconfirmed
reports, the buyer would also be offered to purchase the Russian-made Kamov
Ka-52K helicopters tailored specifically for the ships.
|
It
would be quite a buy. Perhaps India could think about a hard bargain.
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