France announced it was
suspending "until further notice" the delivery of two warships
to Russia because Moscow has not fulfilled the necessary
conditions to receive the vessels, President Francois Hollande's
office said on Tuesday.
The handover of the Mistral warship was delayed after
Russia annexed Crimea last March and lent support to pro-Russian
separatists fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine.
The French statement, which follows months of speculation
about the contract, with Paris reportedly coming under intense
pressure from NATO allies to scrap the 1.2 billion euro deal,
says that given the current situation in Ukraine, the delivery
the Russian commissioned ships can not go ahead.
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