On August 25, the Russian news agency Interfax falsely reported that France had paid Russia more than one billion euros for its non-delivery of French Mistral helicopter carriers, citing an anonymous military attache as its source.
This news was then reposted by such news sites such as Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russkaya Sluzhba Novostey, Rosbalt, Kapital, Korrespondent, News-front, and others.
French government spokesman Stephane le Foll refuted Russian media reports, saying that the amount was less than a billion euros. The exact figure of the compensation to Russia will be announced in September, according to Ouest France, France Info, Le Figaro, France Soir, and others in reports on August 26.
According to French media, France returned the 893 million euros that Russia paid as an advance for the carriers, plus 50 million euros as compensation for dissolving the contract.
“France returned the exact sum of money paid by Russia, plus 50 million euros as compensation. It remains to calculate probable loss resulting from the resale of the two warships,” the French newspaper L’Opinion reported.
