Special to WorldTribune.com

Egypt will purchase a pair of helicopter-carrying warships which France had built for Russia.

France canceled what would have been the largest arms sale ever by a NATO state to Russia in protest after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Francois Hollande and Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi “have agreed on the principle and terms and conditions of Egypt’s acquisition of the two Mistral-class vessels,” the French presidency said in a statement on Sept. 23.

The price Egypt will pay for the ships was not disclosed, though French sources said it would compensate losses incurred over the ships’ aborted sale to Russia.

The two 200-meter (650-foot) amphibious helicopter carriers were due for delivery to Russia by the end of this year in a deal worth an estimated €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion). Mistral-class warships can carry 16 helicopter gunships, 700 troops and up to 50 armored vehicles.

Paris agreed to “fully reimburse” Moscow for canceling the delivery of the ships in a deal reached between Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin in August.

Egypt also purchased 24 Rafale fighter jets from France earlier this year for nearly $6 billion, as it sought international help against Sinai affiliates of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).

  Egypt to buy Mistral-class warships France originally built for Russia, Francois Hollande, Mistral-class warships, Vladimir Putin, WorldTribune.com