France OKs carrier sale to Russia

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Published time: February 09, 2010 18:24
Edited time: July 16, 2010 15:27

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Arms, Big deal, Europe, Russia

France has agreed to sell the Mistral helicopter carrier to Russia. The Russian Navy also has its eyes on three more similar vessels in the future.

The approval of the defense deal was announced Monday by Jacques de Lajugie, the international development director of France’s armaments board Delegation Generale pour l’Armement (DGA). He added the possible addition of three more helicopter carriers has only been discussed on the technical level, not on the political.

In a brief meeting on Monday, French president Nicolas Sarkozy told US Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the deal will not pose a military problem, stressing that Russia should be viewed as an equal partner.

"One cannot expect Russia to behave as a partner if we don't treat them as one," the French president said.

Meanwhile, a source in the Russian government told RIA Novosti that the decision on purchasing the Mistral carrier would be made in the near future. The source added that in Russia there is still not a single opinion on the matter. “There are both those who favor the decision and those who oppose it,” the source told the agency.

Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolay Patrushev told journalists on Tuesday that at this point it is too early to talk about the purchase of the carrier.

“All points of view that are being voiced have a right to exist,” Patrushev said. “We, in fact, can build such a ship in our country but this will take time. We can surely buy it abroad, but we need money for it.”

He added that the matter is being analyzed at the moment so that the final decision will be well thought out.

Russia’s Navy voiced its intention to buy a helicopter carrier last year. The goal is to study the technology and tactical advantages of such a ship.

The French warship Mistral is the main candidate for the purchase, and she even paid a three-day visit to St. Petersburg in November so that top brass could examine it personally. However, the final decision has not yet been made and Russia is considering alternatives.

The French helicopter transport ship 'Mistral' sits docked at a quay on the Neva River, St. Petersburg (AFP Photo / Kirill Kudryavtsev)

France currently has two vessels of this class deployed, which means additional warships will have to be commissioned if Russia wants an extra three. Some Russian Navy officials also speculated that the Mistral can go with a license to build similar vessels in Russian shipyards.

“For the first time since World War II, Russia buys such a big piece of armament abroad, so indeed it is unprecedented, but I believe it is the beginning of military imports,” Aleksandr Pikaev from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations told RT. “Sometimes it is easier to buy a ready product than develop it from a scratch. Russia accounts for maybe 2.5% of international GDP and spends very little money for its military, around 3% of Russia’s own GDP. Under these circumstances, it is very difficult for Russia to develop the full spectrum of weaponry Moscow might need, and therefore in some non-crucial areas, Russia has to enter the international military market.”

Comments (15)

Questionary 15.07.2010 21:05

April 26, 2010, 22:50, Egor wrote > ali, > I don't know where you got that disinformation, but the US Navy ships actually ignored that stupid comment comment from the Russian admiral and sent in more ships. That was just Russian bravado, good for domestic consumption, but the world already knew that the Russian Navy is totally outmatched by the US Navy. Sorry, but that is a hard fact. Not sure where this ali got his info from. But I do know the US send in more ships, and dispite russian complaints even started a full scale supply line to georgia. Nor would I know any Russian or American admiral or president willing to risk a real US-Russian military escalation. Don't know where Ali got his info that Russia wants war with the USA, but I know some people in Russia and noone in Russia was/is willing to declare war on the USA. Wierd comment from Ali. Ali, could you please post your source where, and which russian spokesmen/admiral said Russia will declare war on the USA?

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Egor 26.04.2010 18:50

ali, I don't know where you got that disinformation, but the US Navy ships actually ignored that stupid comment comment from the Russian admiral and sent in more ships. That was just Russian bravado, good for domestic consumption, but the world already knew that the Russian Navy is totally outmatched by the US Navy. Sorry, but that is a hard fact.

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Meslin 21.02.2010 19:26

Ali. Your analyse is good but when you say Europe free herself from America's influence; then I don't agree. E-U and particularly France are still "collabos" to all US adventures. Sarkozy is still the Bush and neo-cons' puppet. Beside, our French businessmen have so little success selling TGV, nuclear-centrals and civilian products. Considering that France is not competitive in most industries (except alcohol) and that our country is broke, we have no choice, but selling what we can. Our government actual pride is that we have sold 20% more armaments in 2009 than in the previous year. Also, I almost forgot:"Sarkonaparte " needs a new airplane, as luxurious as Air Force 1 for his numerous travels (the prestige of France is at that price!). Selling that "Mistral ship" is just a way to make money; nothing else. In a previous comment, I explained to which extremism France can go for arms' selling. I even have a french formula: France = 4 F (frime, fric, fraude and fourberie). I am worry about my country because, in a few decades we have ruined economically and mentally the luckiest 550 000 km² territory of the planet Earth and now with that nullity at the Elysée Palace, we have reached the paroxysm of mediocrity...That is why I try to convince Russians not to be as dumb as we have been in France, America, Great-Britain and many other European nations. This is, at the end of a well accomplished life my small contribution to those who will inherit the mess made and orchestrated by just a few greedy no good humans, which we could easily put out of business. Sincerely...Jean-C laude Meslin

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