US concern over France's plans to sell warships to Russia

06.12.2010 The United States actively deprecate the France's plans to sell four Mistral class amphibious assault dock ships to Russia. That was revealed by WikiLeaks published telegrams of high-ranking American officials warning that such steps could provoke arms race between the Kremlin and Georgia.

Presently, the sale is reaching its final stage. Top-ranking American officials have been expressing their concerns till the very last moment by quite diplomatic language.

Judging by the telegram, however, sent this year by American diplomats, at some time they directly voiced protest to their French counterparts.

Deputy Defense Secretary Michelle Flournoy warned French top functionaries at the meeting in January that "optics and policy behind the sale were perplexing" and would "fly in the face" of personal commitments of president Sarkozy to settle the crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008.

According to the telegram addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mrs. Flournoy said that the sale of warships "would send a confusing political signal to Russia as well as to other Europeans".

It is also said in the telegram that Flournoy's position was backed by William Burns, one of the State's leading officials. He noted that the sale "would feed Georgia's fears and could lead to an arms race, increasing the chance of miscalculation by one or both sides".

According to Mrs. Flournoy, although the U.S. understand that Paris strives after partnership with Russia, Washington "would prefer that France find a different confidence-building measure than a Mistral sale".

The Elysee treats the sale of helicopter carriers as a way to build special relations with Moscow and encourage Russia's efforts to modernization, including president Medvedev's ones.

However, one of French diplomats contradicted his American counterparts saying that "President Sarkozy had a 'problem of confidence' and did not fully trust Russia".

French defense minister Herve Morin noted that he was personally lobbying the sale. "How can we tell Russia we desire partnership but then not trust them?" he said.

France is about to sell four helicopter carriers to Russia and build two of them at French shipyards. Perhaps, the sale will also depend on what arms technologies Paris is ready to offer.

As for French officials, the ships will not be armed and equipped with advanced comm systems.

In private conversations French functionaries usually downplay military significance of the quite versatile Mistrals.