During a lengthy 4 hour "Direct Question Time" meeting with the Press and Public in Moscow, President Putin was relaxed when the non-delivery of the Mistral Vessels and Helicopters was raised !
Vladimir Putin simply said the order for the Mistral Vessels and Helicopters was made to save the French shipyards. He also said that France would return Russian prepayments and pay compensation for non-delivery of the Vessels and Helicopters !
Putin quite rightly pacified his audiance by saying that this non-delivery did not impact the military might of Russia. Did the "Whole World" not see this "Might" on May 9, when Russia celebrated the 70th anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 ?
However, the basic problem remains, which is that Putin violated the Independence of Ukraine by invading and annexing Crimea. This resulted in Sanctions against Russia by the Western Powers. Putin's continued interference in Ukraine by supplying armaments to Russian Rebels in Eastern Ukraine has led to further Sanctions, including the non-delivery of the Mistrals by France.
Should France compensate Russia ? The answer is "No" ! Everyone in France would be horrified if the cost of this non-delivery would not be borne equitably by all the Western Powers !
The Mistrals are far from being a complete Financial Loss. There are perhaps some acceptable countries which would like to buy them !
Alternatively does the EU not need serious Patrol Vessels in the Mediterranean to combat Immigration but also to survey the presence of Russian ships off Syria and in Cyprus ?
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