Trump on Putin:
Reportedly a refund deal on the Mistrals:
A top Kremlin aide says Russia and France have reached an agreement on reimbursement for two Mistral warships that Russia purchased but will not receive.
The delivery of the Mistral-class helicopter carriers was suspended in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Vladimir Kozhin, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin, confirmed that a refund deal was reached but would not reveal the figure. He said the amount will be announced when the contract is cancelled.
The $1.3 billion contract that was signed in 2011 was meant to be the biggest arms sale ever to Russia by a NATO country.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper reported earlier this week that France had offered to terminate the contract and pay back about $794 million provided France can re-export the warships.
The first ship was due for delivery in 2014 and the second was to be delivered in 2015.
Good morning. The main story from overnight:
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine news coverage here.