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| Egypt Buys Two French Warships Originally Built for Russia | Egypt Buys Two French Warships Originally Built for Russia |
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| PARIS — Two French warships originally built for Russia, but not delivered because of the crisis in Ukraine, will be sold to Egypt instead, the French government announced on Wednesday. | |
| President François Hollande told reporters in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting, that French negotiators had “unwound the contract we had with Russia on good terms, respectful of Russia and not suffering any penalty for France,” and that he and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, had “agreed on the price and conditions” of a sale to Egypt on Tuesday. He did not give details. | President François Hollande told reporters in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting, that French negotiators had “unwound the contract we had with Russia on good terms, respectful of Russia and not suffering any penalty for France,” and that he and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, had “agreed on the price and conditions” of a sale to Egypt on Tuesday. He did not give details. |
| The two warships — Mistral-class amphibious assault ships that can carry troops and helicopters — were completed late last year and are docked at Saint-Nazaire on France’s Atlantic coast. Russia ordered them in 2011 for about $1.3 billion, and had already paid about $1 billion of that by November 2014, when the French government halted the sale indefinitely. That money has been refunded. | The two warships — Mistral-class amphibious assault ships that can carry troops and helicopters — were completed late last year and are docked at Saint-Nazaire on France’s Atlantic coast. Russia ordered them in 2011 for about $1.3 billion, and had already paid about $1 billion of that by November 2014, when the French government halted the sale indefinitely. That money has been refunded. |
| A spokesman for the French government, Stéphane Le Foll, refused to elaborate on the price Egypt had agreed to pay. Mr. Hollande said only that France would “ensure the delivery of these ships without losing anything, while helping protect Egypt.” | A spokesman for the French government, Stéphane Le Foll, refused to elaborate on the price Egypt had agreed to pay. Mr. Hollande said only that France would “ensure the delivery of these ships without losing anything, while helping protect Egypt.” |
| There was no immediate comment from the Egyptian government. Government offices in Cairo were closed Wednesday as part of Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday. | |
| Egypt had been rumored for months to be interested in buying the ships, as part of its effort to assist Saudi Arabia in a coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen who have taken control of much of the country. France has had close ties with the Sunni Arab states for years, and has sought to capitalize on the perceived cooling among the United States and the Gulf nations over the nuclear deal with Iran. | |
| The contract for the ships was hailed as a landmark when it was announced in 2011, one of the largest purchases of Western arms by Russia to date. But Russia’s annexation of Crimea and involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014 led Europe and the United States to impose sanctions on Moscow, putting France in an awkward position as Russian seamen and engineers were in France to learn the ships’ technology. | The contract for the ships was hailed as a landmark when it was announced in 2011, one of the largest purchases of Western arms by Russia to date. But Russia’s annexation of Crimea and involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014 led Europe and the United States to impose sanctions on Moscow, putting France in an awkward position as Russian seamen and engineers were in France to learn the ships’ technology. |
| Until the government releases official figures, it will be difficult to assess the new deal’s financial impact. Under its original deal with Russia, France trained 400 Russian sailors and engineers to operate the ships; it was not immediately clear whether France would now do the same for Egypt, or would have to translate signs and manuals into Arabic and absorb other costs. | Until the government releases official figures, it will be difficult to assess the new deal’s financial impact. Under its original deal with Russia, France trained 400 Russian sailors and engineers to operate the ships; it was not immediately clear whether France would now do the same for Egypt, or would have to translate signs and manuals into Arabic and absorb other costs. |
| Speaking after the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Le Foll, the government spokesman, denied that the sale to Egypt would be a money loser for France. But many analysts quoted in the French news media disagreed and offered a range of estimates of potential losses, some of them reaching the hundreds of millions of dollars. | Speaking after the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Le Foll, the government spokesman, denied that the sale to Egypt would be a money loser for France. But many analysts quoted in the French news media disagreed and offered a range of estimates of potential losses, some of them reaching the hundreds of millions of dollars. |
| Mr. Le Foll said France and Egypt had been in discussions over the ships since Mr. Hollande went to Egypt in August for the inauguration of a Suez Canal expansion. | Mr. Le Foll said France and Egypt had been in discussions over the ships since Mr. Hollande went to Egypt in August for the inauguration of a Suez Canal expansion. |
| The deal for the Mistral ships is the second major French arms sale to Egypt this year. In February, the two countries announced a $6 billion deal for 24 Dassault Rafale fighter jets and for a naval frigate. | The deal for the Mistral ships is the second major French arms sale to Egypt this year. In February, the two countries announced a $6 billion deal for 24 Dassault Rafale fighter jets and for a naval frigate. |