AA / Paris / Ümit Dönmez
France sold weapons to Russia between 2015 and 2020 despite the European arms embargo imposed on this country since 2014, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Disclose revealed on Monday.
According to a survey by the NGO founded by a team of independent journalists, the results of which were published on Monday March 14, “France has discreetly equipped Vladimir Putin’s army with state-of-the-art military technologies”. And this, despite the arms sales ban imposed on Russia by the European Union (EU) on August 1, 2014, following the annexation of Crimea by Moscow and the self-declaration of the pro-Russian separatist republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, the same year.
“According to “confidential-defense” documents obtained by Disclose and information from open sources, France has issued at least 76 export licenses for war material to Russia since 2015. Total amount of these contracts: 152 million euros”, notes the independent media, referring to the latest report to Parliament on arms exports.
Disclose’s investigation reveals that “these exports mainly concern thermal cameras intended to equip more than 1,000 Russian tanks, as well as navigation systems and infrared detectors for fighter planes and combat helicopters of the Russian air force. “.
The NGO specifies that the main beneficiaries of these markets were the companies Thales and Safran, of which the French State is the main shareholder.
“The governments of François Hollande and then Emmanuel Macron took advantage of a breach in the European embargo”, indicates Disclose, specifying that it “is not retroactive”.
The media recalls that under pressure from “his European partners and the United States, President François Hollande had canceled the sale of two Mistral ships to Russia. But more discreet deliveries will continue”, establishes the investigation, indicating that these military and technological contributions may have benefited Russia in the current war in Ukraine.
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