Russian envoy says Philippines should honor helicopter deal

The Philippine government should honor a $38-million military helicopter contract that Filipino officials earlier canceled due to fear of United States sanctions, Russia's envoy to Manila said Wednesday.

Ambassador Marat Pavlov lamented reports of a decision by the Philippine government under the Duterte administration to terminate a contract to buy 16 military helicopters and added that Russia has not received a formal notice of cancellation.

"We are ready to fulfill all our obligations as a reliable partner of the Philippine side in the field of technical military cooperation and we consider that it will also be done by the Philippines," Pavlov told a group of journalists on Wednesday evening.

Pavlov said the Russian contractor continues to manufacture the 16 helicopters and that Filipino pilots tasked to operate the aircraft have completed Russian training.

"The downpayment was made for the start of the assembly operation, so we continue to assemble. Because we received the amount of the money therefore fulfilling all the contractual obligation," he said.

Pavlov said one fully assembled helicopter would have been delivered to the Philippines last June, but the Philippine government rejected it.
The helicopter unit was to be provided free of charge as a side bonus of the deal.

"This is a very important issue of our bilateral relations. It was concluded without any pressure from the Russian side with the previous administration," Pavlov said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Malacañang and the Department of National Defense for their comment, but they have yet to respond as of posting time.

Refund possible?

The helicopter purchase agreement with Russia’s Sovtechnoexport was signed in November last year.

Then-Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said getting the money back may be difficult since a contract has already been signed.

"I'd like to reaffirm that the Russian side is continuing to fulfill all the obligations regarding this contract and we consider it valid until now," Pavlov said.

Asked if a refund is possible, the envoy replied: "We'd like to see the position of the Philippine government and after that we discuss the process of contractual obligation."

"I know that in any contract it should be mentioned how it could be solved in case one of the parties would like to cancel."

Citing very good bilateral relations with Manila, Marat believes the issue can be resolved by the two sides.

Pavlov said the embassy did not seek clarification from the Philippine side on its reported decision to cancel the contract because "we're still waiting for the official declaration."

The contract would have enabled the delivery of the first batch of transport helicopters in two years, but Manila is likely to face pressure from Washington due to an existing sanctions legislation that prohibits the purchase of military equipment from countries like Russia.

The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA prevents the Philippines from pushing through with the Russian deal.

Philippine officials said the US government could offer similar helicopters to the Philippines for the same price that includes maintenance services and parts, terms that were not included in the deal with Russia.

The Russian-made heavy-lift helicopters could have been used for combat, search and rescue operations, and medical evacuations, Philippine officials said.

"Russian helicopters are very robust and solid," Pavlov maintained. —KBK, GMA News