France says several countries interested in buying Mistral warships

PanARMENIAN.Net - France's Defense Minister said Thursday, Aug 6, that "several" countries had expressed an interest in buying its Mistral-class warships, after Paris refused to deliver them to Russia because of the Ukraine crisis, AFP reports.

"A certain number of countries -- there are several -- have made their interest known for these boats," Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio.

Late Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande announced he had clinched a deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to withhold the warships in exchange for compensation.

In a deal worth around 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), France had promised to deliver the two vessels to Moscow but the agreement hit the rocks over Russia's perceived aggression in eastern Ukraine.

Le Drian declined to say exactly how much France had repaid Russia but said Paris could now press on with talking to other interested parties.

"We couldn't do that while the dispute was still ongoing with Russia ... but now there is no more dispute," he said.

"France will reimburse all the money paid by Russia to acquire these ships," Le Drian pledged.

On Wednesday, Moscow said that France had already paid back the money and it considered the matter closed.

Earlier this year, Hollande said that the conditions for delivery of the ships were "still not right". In April, in a sign that the deal was on rocky ground, Putin had downplayed the importance of the ships but insisted that the French side reimburse Moscow "all expenses" if the contract were to be terminated.