WASHINGTON, October 3. /TASS/. The Mistral helicopter carrying warships that France has build on Russia’s order, may be delivered to Russia on schedule — in late October or early November, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday.

At a joint Pentagon briefing with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Le Drian said the amphibious helicopter carriers must be supplied to Russia as the customer when the delivery time comes. “The decision will be taken at the time of delivery. That should be at the end of October (or the) beginning of November,” the minister said.

The €1.12 billion contract on constructing helicopter carriers by France for Russia’s Navy was signed in June 2011. The contract provides for the delivery of two warships fully furnished with the navigation and technological equipment, including the license documentation. The ships, named Vladivostok and Sevastopol, are being built at France’s Saint-Nazaire shipyard. The delivery of the Vladivostok ship to Russia was scheduled for November 1, 2014, and Sevastopol — by November 1, 2015.