France to sell warship to Russia

France has agreed to sell a first amphibious assault warship to Moscow in a deal the French defence minister said Monday highlighted Europe's new relationship with a new Russia.

The sale of the ultra-modern Mistral-class helicopter carrier had worried Russia's neighbour Georgia and raised eyebrows among France's allies as the first sale by a NATO member of such advanced technology to Moscow.

At a joint news conference with his US counterpart Robert Gates, French Defence Minister Herve Morin said the sale of the Mistral showed that Russia was now considered a partner in European security.

"We want to build a relationship of confidence and a new relationship with Russia,'' said Morin.

"We cannot on the one hand enlist Russia in building this security and at the same time consider that Russia has not profoundly changed since 1991,'' when the Soviet Union collapsed, he said.

The French defence minister argued that refusing the sale would have amounted to "pursuing trade relations and exchanges with Russia as if it were the Russia of pre-1991.''

During their meeting in Paris, Morin discussed the deal with Gates, who commented tersely: "I would just say that we had a good and thorough exchange of views on it. I'll just leave it at that.''

Having initially tendered for one, Russia now wants to buy up to four Mistral-class ships, a French defence ministry official said, adding that a decision on the other three would be made in the coming weeks.

The Moscow daily Moskovski Komsomolets reported Monday that Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has decided to buy one Mistral from France for between 500 and 600 million euros (up to 820 million dollars).

The Mistral, the second largest warship in the French fleet, is a 21,000-tonne, 200-metre (650-foot) amphibious assault vessel that can carry heavy-lift helicopters, landing craft, tanks and up to 900 commandos.