When commenting on the rumors that Paris is trying to sell the Mistral ships to Beijing, while the two French warships are on a seven-day visit to Shanghai, Komoyedov said that the Russian shipbuilding technology is advanced enough and "there were better ships of our own of this class, we need to return to own [construction]."
The Admiral also said that France may sell the Mistrals to any country it wants. "We will get quid's worth, we will return our costs, this is confirmed by all international organizations," Komoyedov added.
According to him, Europe is a "puppet," run from overseas. The Russian lawmaker labelled France’s decision to suspend the delivery of the Mistral ships to Russia as non-independent.
Russia and France signed a $1.3 billion deal for two Mistral-class ships in 2011. The handover of the first vessel was scheduled for November 2014, but French President Francois Hollande put the delivery on hold over Moscow's alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis, a claim denied by the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, the upkeep and maintenance costs for the two ships will cost French taxpayers €5 million per month. Paris considered dismantling the two Mistral ships, commissioned by Russia, or selling them to a third party, French media reported.
