In the light of recent developments, including annexation and occupation of Crimea and the Kremlin’s unwillingness to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine, many media are focusing on an equally important issue, the contract for the supply of French-built helicopter carriers to Russia. As is known, the two nations signed a contract worth 1.2 billion euros in 2011 for the supply of four Mistral-class helicopter carriers. It was opposed at the time by Georgia, the Baltic countries, and some countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The then French president Nicolas Sarkozy ignored these warnings and signed a contract, which, according to him, was a testament to the strength of partnership between his country, a NATO member, and Russia. His decision was not affected even by the fact that Russia had not complied with the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement. Clearly, Sarkozy saw fuller utilization of the French shipyard and thus increase in voters’ support in the presidential election of 2012 as more important.
According to Western media, the US government has always insisted that France should not sign a contract with Russia. Even in mid-April 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry talked to Laurent Fabius, when the latter visited the US, on the need to cancel the contract, but all in vain. French President Francois Hollande said that the contract remained in force, and the final decision to transfer the first completed ship to Russia will be made in October.
Such a “decisiveness” is puzzling. After all, the events in Ukraine have shown that aggressive neighbor Russia cannot be a partner of NATO.
Residents of Kyiv and Warsaw held a protest recently against the sale of French Mistral warships to Russia. Protesters believe that the French authorities’ actions are “shameful and unworthy of a country that declares its commitment to the ideals of democracy.” One of the posters reads “Why do you want to kill us?” and the other “Supporting Russia in its killing of Ukrainians is a shame for France!” Protesters set in front of the French embassy a pool filled with red liquid which symbolized blood. Toy boats floated in it.
The Razumkov Center’s program director for foreign policy and international security center Oleksii Melnyk said in his comments for The Day that the time that remained before the transfer of the first helicopter carrier, named Vladivostok, should be used to make the French government think again to what extent the economic impact of this agreement prevails over the security one, and the likely consequences of the second helicopter carrier being named Sevastopol.
“It will be a sort of stain on the reputation of France, because a French-built ship will bear a name that is associated with the occupation and annexation of Crimea. As these two Mistrals have already been built, we should emphasize the fact that the next two will go to the Arctic. And if the presence of a Mistral in Crimea will be only symbolic, their Arctic deployment, due to the fact that tensions increase in there, is highly probable to see these ships used against NATO forces in 5 or 10 years. And most importantly, ‘Made in France’ will be associated with Sevastopol and the annexation of Crimea,” the expert stressed.
