France approves Russia warship sale
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France has agreed to sell Russia a hi-tech warship and says it is considering a request to buy three more. The deal - the first of its kind between a NATO country and Russia - has upset Moscow's neighbours, who fear that a better-equipped Russian army will mean less security for them.
The French government announced last night that President Sarkozy has approved the sale of a €500 million Mistral-class warship to Russia. Russia hopes to expand the sale to three more, creating a modern and efficient naval assault fleet.
A Mistral-class ship is able to carry 16 helicopters, one-third of a tank regiment and two hovercraft or up to four landing craft. Experts say that if Russia suceeds in buying all four this will significantly boost its naval attack capabilities.
The deal, which has taken over one year to complete, has ruffled feathers amongst Russia’s post-Soviet neighbours, including Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia, who have sought assurances from the Russian Foreign Ministry about what its plans for the ship are.
Their concerns were not alleviated by a statement made at the end of last year by Russia’s defence authorities, saying that if they had owned such ships the Russian navy's offensive against Georgia in summer 2008 would have taken just 40 minutes to carry out instead of 36 hours.
The French authorities have acknowledged the concerns held by Russia’s neighbours, but say that the sale is part of building trust between NATO members and Russia.
