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Russia-France Mistral dispute

Second trials of Mistral-class Sevastopol ship set for April

The vessel departed from the French port of Saint-Nazaire today to undergo sea trials that will last for a week

© EPA/EDDY LEMAISTRE

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Second Mistral-class helicopter carrier leaves port for sea trials in the Atlantic

PARIS, March 16. /TASS/. The second Mistral-class helicopter carrier built for Russia, the Sevastopol, will undergo another sea trials in April, a spokesman for DCNS industrial group said on Monday.

"The vessel departed from the French port of Saint-Nazaire today to undergo sea trials that will last for a week," the spokesman said. "More than 200 people are on board the Sevastopol. The second part of the trials is set for April."

The €1.12-billion contract for building two Mistral class ships for the Russian Navy was concluded in June 2011. The first ship, the Vladivostok, launched in October 2013, was to be delivered to Russia back in November 2014. At the last moment Paris suspended the handover indefinitely saying the crisis in Ukraine was the reason. The Vladivostok has since remained moored in Saint-Nazaire.

It was originally planned that the Sevastopol was to be handed over to the Russian side in the second half of 2015. However, like in the case with the first ship, the decision on its supply has been yet frozen.

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