While on a visit to Armenia on April 24, Presidents of France and Russia, Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin, are expected to discuss delivery of the French Mistral amphibious assault ships to Russia. According to RT TV, the statement came from the French president on the French television.
Reportedly, Holland said Moscow and Paris have not yet arrived at any agreement on the delivery of two Mistral amphibious assault ships since December, when Russia was to receive the first one. The president said the main problems rest upon the situation in Ukraine.
Commenting on the issue earlier, Vladimir Putin said: "Russia will not impose penalties against France over its failure to fulfill a 1.2 billion euro contract to supply two Mistral helicopter carriers," according to Reuters.
"We do intend to seek any penalties or fines ... but it is necessary that all costs we have incurred are covered," Putin said during his annual televised call-in show.
"I assume the current French leadership and the French generally are good people and will return our money," he said.