Airbus Protests Furiously Over Poland's Handling Of Chopper Deal

PARIS, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Oct, 2016 ) - Airbus on Tuesday angrily lashed out against the Polish government's handling of a failed helicopter deal which has caused diplomatic tensions between Paris and Warsaw.

"Never have we been treated by any government customer the way this government has treated us," Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said in a statement seen by AFP. The sharp criticism comes days after French President Francois Hollande postponed a visit to Warsaw in response to a breakdown in talks aimed at Poland buying Airbus choppers.

"The controversial and contradictory declarations of the Polish government over the course of this procurement proceedings created the impression of unprecedented confusion," Enders said. "Airbus wanted to invest in Poland big time and we wanted to contribute to building a competitive aerospace industry in this country.

But the Polish government slammed the door on us. We take note of this," he added. There is disagreement over who actually ended the negotiations, with Poland on Saturday blaming Airbus for the breakdown in talks over what would have been a contract worth more than three billion Euros (Dollars) for military helicopters.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that it wasn't the Polish side who broke off the talks," Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz told reporters Saturday in Warsaw. "Unfortunately the two sides did not see eye to eye on the offset package," he said, referring to arrangements whereby a supplier of military hardware typically sweetens a deal by setting up a factory in the purchasing country or agrees to place orders with companies there.

Poland subsequently said it will now buy Black Hawk helicopters from US defence giant Lockheed Martin instead of Airbus's Caracal model. On Monday Macierewicz said "this week we will open talks" with Lockheed Martin and already on Tuesday he followed up with the news that Warsaw would pick up at least 21 Black Hawks.

He said two Black Hawks produced in Poland would be delivered before the end of the year, followed by eight in 2017 and 11 in 2018.