MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – France’s refusal to deliver the Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia was a grave error, French lawmaker Jacques Myard told Sputnik.
"That’s a big mistake as well. I always said that we should deliver, there was a contract," Myard told Sputnik.
According to Myard, there is no justification for linking the fulfillment of the obligations under the contract with the Ukrainian crisis.
"These are not ships you could use to bomb Kiev. These are not the kind of ships, with which you could intervene in Donbass. So there is no sense in not delivering those ships," Myard stressed.
In November 2014, Paris unilaterally canceled a $1.5-billion contract for the delivery of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Moscow, citing Russia's alleged involvement in Ukraine's internal conflict — a claim that the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.
In April, French President Francois Hollande said Paris would return Moscow's payment for the warships should the contract be terminated.
