WASHINGTON, December 5 (Sputnik) – France should be able to use and pay for the Mistral warships they will no longer be delivering to Russia, US Senator John McCain told Russia's Sputnik news service on Friday.
"If the ships are built, they [France] could use them themselves and pay for it themselves. They certainly could use the weapons system," McCain told Sputnik speaking of how the French will use the ships that their foreign ministry announced would likely never be delivered to Russia.
As a naval power, the French should be able to use the ships and should also be able to afford them, according to the Senator.
McCain, who has previously advocated the suspension of the Mistral delivery, stated that he was glad the French government suspended its contract to provide Russia with two Mistral warships. "I hope they will both be permanently cancelled," McCain said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on Friday that the two Mistral warships France agreed to sell to Russia would possibly never be delivered. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded to the announcement saying that the cancellation will undermine France's reputation.
Russia and France signed a $1.6 billion deal for two Mistral-class ships in June 2011. The handover of the first ship was scheduled for mid-November, but never happened. French President Francois Hollande put the delivery on hold, citing the situation in eastern Ukraine as the reason behind the decision.
