PARIS, August 10. /TASS/. France has made a mistake succumbing to pressure from "some allies" and refusing to supply two Mistral helicopter carriers built for the Russian Navy to Russia, French politician, lawmaker from the Republicans opposition party Thierry Mariani said in an interview with the Le Figaro newspaper published on Monday.
Answering a reporter’s question about the situation with the cancellation of the Mistral deal, Mariani, who led the delegation of French parliamentarians during its visit to Crimea last month, once again noted that he condemned the Elysee Palace’s refusal to honor the agreement. "Because this is a mistake," he said. We strictly abide by the sanctions regime - under pressure from some of our allies, in particular, the Americans. At the same time, other countries do perfectly well without them, above all, the Americans."
According to the French politician, despite certain well-known diplomatic obstacles, some U.S. companies continue to develop fruitful cooperation with Russia. "An example to this effect is an agreement between Moscow and the U.S. Bell Helicopter on the construction of an assembly plant in Russia. Another example is a $490-million contract signed by NASA with the Russian Space agency on the very day when France cancelled the Mistral contract," Mariani said.
As a result, "we have sanctions, and others have contracts," the parliamentarian noted. "It is absurd," he said. "Russia is affected by this situation, and so are we, and all this in no way changes the international situation. Nor does it affect the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.".