A French invitation for a Russian official delegation to attend the delivery ceremony of the Vladivostok helicopter carrier in France on 14 November has not been voided, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said Sunday, implying that the handover could still take place, reports GHN based on RT.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport had been invited to France to attend the official handover ceremony of the first Mistral carrier in mid-November. Russia and France signed the €1.2 billion deal for the two Mistral-class ships in June 2011. Since then, the deal has been in jeopardy after the West started implementing economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.