“The ships should be handed over in early March after the training of about 400 Egyptians and some final tests”, the source said.

Negotiations began on August 6.

Russian Federation had traditionally supplied Egypt’s military, but the country has turned more recently toward Western arms purchases, with France taking a leading role. According to the report the purchase could include a variant of the Ka-52 (the Ka-52 Katran), which specifically designed for the Mistrals Russian Federation had intended to acquire.

“The task of our ships is to provide assistance to frontline troops in defending our borders, in other words, landing assault groups in the rear of advancing enemy forces”. And the military official said it was not permitted for the buyer of a warship to re-sell without permission from the original seller. “Having a secure offshore base for operations against the Islamists would be very attractive”, he said.

French media reported previously that a high-ranking Egyptian delegation was discussing the terms for purchasing the Mistral helicopter carriers with the French government but had been unable to reach an agreement on a final price. Russian Federation has denied the allegations.

The multibillion dollar deal with Moscow for the warships was postponed a year ago due to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and the Kremlin’s support for separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine. France continued building to Russia’s specifications – including stenciling Cyrillic writing throughout the vessels -until the deal finally fell apart because of the Ukrainian crisis.

Later that September, Hollande told reporters he was still hopeful that the deal could go through – if conditions of peace were achieved. The final decision was announced by the presidents office on Wednesday, though the cost of the deal has not been released.

Hollande said during a visit to Egypt in August that the ever-closer ties between Paris and Cairo stemmed from the “fight against terrorism”.