Russia has taken necessary steps to ensure that mistral carrier payments to France weren't expropriated as part of Yukos case
The Russian Federation has taken necessary steps to make sure that payments "weren't seized as part of the Yukos case expropriation," a source in the military and diplomatic circles said. Paris met Moscow halfway on this matter.
Funds amounting to one billion Euros, paid by the Russians in advance for the construction of two Mistral helicopter carriers, were returned to Moscow shortly after the cancellation of the contract as reported on Monday, February 22nd, by the Rambler News Service (RNS), citing a military-diplomatic source.
According to him, the money was transferred to the Russian Federation "promptly, in August of last year." This way Paris had accommodated Russian interests. At the request of the former majority shareholders of the Russian oil company who are seeking to recover $50 billion from the Russian Federation awarded by the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, about one billion Euros in Russian property in France was frozen as a result of the unpaid debt.
The decision that France should reimburse the Russian Federation for breaking the contract for the supply of two Mistral warships was made in August 2015. The initial contract value was 1.2 billion Euros, however, according to the agreement reached by the parties, the end payment would have to be smaller. Moscow ordered the Mistral ships in June 2011, but, due to Russia's participation in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, Paris postponed their delivery, and then completely terminated the deal.