MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Members of France’s National Assembly do not support Western economic sanctions against Russia because France is a sovereign country that should not bend to the demands of the United States, Claude Goasguen, a member of National Assembly, the lower house of French parliament, said Wednesday.
France's non-fulfilment of its obligations to hand over Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia is a bad decision that undermines the country’s credibility, Claude Goasguen said.
According to the terms of the $1.5-billion contract signed in 2011, Paris was due to deliver the first of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers, the Vladivostok, to the Russian Navy by November 14. However, French President Francois Hollande put the transfer on hold, citing Russia's alleged role in the ongoing Ukrainian internal crisis.
In January, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow could file a lawsuit against Paris if the contractual obligations for the shipment remained unfulfilled.
