France and Russia have reached a deal on the amount Paris must pay Moscow in compensation for the non-delivery of two Mistral warships, a senior Russian official has said.



“The negotiations are completely finished, everything has already been decided, both the timeframe and the amount,” Vladimir Putin’s adviser for military and technical cooperation, Vladimir Kozhin, told state news agency RIA Novosti.

“I hope we will sign the agreement on the termination of the contract as soon as possible,” he added.

The fate of the two Mistral helicopter-carriers has plagued France-Russia ties for more than a year, following the decision by Paris to put the €1.2bn (£840m) deal on ice after the west imposed sanctions on Moscow over its takeover of Crimea and alleged backing for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The French president, François Hollande, had said on Monday that he would decide “in the coming weeks” whether or not to scrap the contentious contract to supply the two warships to Russia. The first ship was due for delivery in 2014, with the second to be delivered this year.

Putin downplayed the importance of the ships in April but insisted that the French reimburse Moscow “all expenses” if the contract were to be terminated.

A spokesperson for Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister who oversees the defence industry, declined to comment.