Lithuanian National Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene said France's decision to build Mistral-class helicopter carriers jointly with Russia was 'a mistake.'
A consortium comprising French DCNS and Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) won a tender last week to build amphibious assault ships for Russia. At the initial stage, two Mistral-class helicopter carriers will be built jointly by France and Russia with another two to be constructed later in Russia.
"I think this is a mistake. I assess [the situation] mainly from the political point of view, not from the military one. It's clear that two ships are unable to cause a serious shift in the balance of forces in this region, but it sets up a precedent when a member state of NATO and the EU sells offensive weapons to a third country," she said.
Russia has been in talks with France on the purchase of Mistral-class warships on a 2+2 scheme whereby Russia will buy one or two French-built Mistrals and build another two under license at home.
A Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, up to 70 armored vehicles including 13 battle tanks, and 450 personnel.
The Russian military has said it plans to use Mistral ships in its Northern and Pacific fleets.
VILNIUS, December 28 (RIA Novosti)
