US says French warships to Russia 'unhelpful'
Russia's Igor Sechin, who signed the Mistral deal with France, is on the US sanctions list
The US state department has criticised France for planning to deliver two warships to Russia despite its actions in Ukraine.
US spokeswoman Jen Psaki told press in Washington on Monday (12 May) that "we have expressed our concerns to the French government over the sale. We'll continue to do so".
She added: "Obviously, as you know, there are sanctions that have been put in place. I'd have to specifically check here to see if there's a legal question or if this is just a question of whether we find this to be unhelpful."
For its part, France has ruled out an arms embargo on Russia even if it invades eastern Ukraine or disrupts its 25 May presidential elections.
The Mistral assault ships were sold to Russia for €1.2 billion shortly after its war with Georgia in 2008.
A Russian admiral later said he could have won the conflict in "40 minutes instead of 26 hours" if he had had them earlier.
A French official told Reuters on Monday the first of the vessels will be delivered to Russia as planned in the fourth quarter of this year. "The contract has been paid and there would be financial penalties for not delivering it," he said.
Psaki noted that, the ships aside, the US is "working in lockstep with the EU to put in place consequences for the illegal and illegitimate actions of Russia".
EU ministers the same day expanded their Russia blacklist from 48 to 61 people and two Crimean companies.
The top names are Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief of staff, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Russian military chief Vladimir Shamanov, both named for their actions over the annexation of Crimea in March.
The list includes Viacheslav Ponomariov, a pro-Russia separatist from Slaviansk, Ukraine, blamed for kidnapping EU military monitors sent on a mission by the OSCE, a multilateral body based in Vienna.
It also includes Igor Bezler, a separatist chief linked to the murder of a Ukrainian security officer, two men who organised the bogus referendums on independence in Donetsk and Luhansk, and Natalia Poklonskaya, a young Crimean prosecutor.
The Crimean entities are oil firm Feodosia and gas company Chernomorneftegaz. Both were confiscated after Russia snatched the territory, with Western sanctions to block Russia's Gazprom from taking over the gas firm.
Russia's deputy FM, Sergei Ryabkov, complained about the measures.
"EU colleagues are demonstrating a one-sided and one-dimensional policy, not worthy of the European Union," he told Russian media.
Rustam Temirgaliyev, a Crimean politician who was already under an EU travel ban and asset freeze, told Reuters: "Personally, I don't feel any restrictions. I have travelled around lots of European countries and don't plan to travel there in the near future. I don't have any assets there either."
He added that his economic plan includes getting Russian capital to move from Cyprus to Crimea to create a "civilised offshore zone".
World Bulletin: 12. May 2014
France won't cancel warship deal with Russia
France confirmed it will sell the Mistral class amphibious warship to Russia, along with advanced military technology.
France will press ahead with a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.66 billion) contract to sell Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia because cancelling the deal would do more damage to Paris than to Moscow, French diplomatic sources said on Monday.
France's move illustrates the limitations of European Union sanctions meant to punish Russia for its annexation of Crimea and dissuade Moscow from intervening in east Ukraine.
The United States has been pressing France, Germany and Britain to take a tougher line againstRussia. For France, this would mean at least delaying the Mistral contract. For Britain, closing its mansions and bank vaults to magnates close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. For Germany, initiating gradual steps to reduce dependency on Russian gas.
France had said it would review the deal in October - but not before. However, French diplomatic sources said on Monday the 2011 contract with Russia for two Mistral helicopter carriers, with an option for two more, would not be part of a third round of sanctions against Moscow.
"The Mistrals are not part of the third level of sanctions. They will be delivered. The contract has been paid and there would be financial penalties for not delivering it.
"It would be France that is penalised. It's too easy to say France has to give up on the sale of the ships. We have done our part."
The Russian defence ministry warned Paris in March it would have to repay the cost of the contract and additional penalties if it cancelled the deal.
European ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday discussed what would trigger more hard-hitting economic sanctions on the Russian economy with big EU powers Germany, France and Britain all threatening tougher action against Moscow if it undermined the May 25 Ukrainian presidential election.
WASHINGTON "CONCERNED"
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said on May 8 that she had qualms about the French deal after several U.S. lawmakers demanded Washington put pressure on France to send a strong message to Russia.
Russia agreed to buy the Mistrals, giving it access to advanced technology. This alarmed some ofFrance's NATO allies at the time, especially in the aftermath of Russia's 2008 war with Georgia.
"We have regularly and consistently expressed our concerns about this sale, even before we had the latest Russian actions, and we will continue to do so," Nuland told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, setting up a potentially uncomfortable meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Washington on Tuesday.
U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to raise the issue with President Francois Hollande when he attends the D-Day commemorations in Normandy next month.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said last week he believed the European Unionshould include an arms embargo in any new round of sanctions on Russia.
Officials have suggested Paris could look to sell the ships to a different buyer or without the technology. One official also said there were provisions under World Trade Organisation rules that enable countries to break contracts under such circumstances.
The long-discussed French sale was Moscow's first major foreign arms purchase in the two decades since the fall of the Soviet Union. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy had hailed the signing of the Mistral contract as evidence the Cold War was over. It has created about 1,000 jobs in France.
A French government source said at no point had the U.S. officially expressed any concern over the sale, adding that the carriers would not be delivered with any weaponry.
"We are not delivering armed warships, but only the frame of the ship," the source said.
The first carrier, the Vladivostok, is due to be delivered by the last quarter of 2014. The second, named Sebastopol (after the Crimean seaport), is supposed to be delivered by 2016.
About 400 Russian sailors are due to come to France in June to receive training for the Mistral. The carriers can hold up to 16 helicopters, such as Russia's Ka-50/52s.
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