France: FM Fabius says Russia will be reimbursed for cancelled Mistral warships

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke about relations with Russia after the cancelled sale of two Mistral-class helicopter-carrier warships during a session of the National Assembly in Paris, Thursday. "Under the current circumstances, the cancelling of delivery of the mistrals does not mean that we give up relations with that country (Russia) beyond the existing difficulties, which cannot be denied," Fabius stated, adding that France would "reimburse Russia the full amount of money that they paid according to the contract" but would not accept any form of financial penalty for the cancellation. The French foreign minister went on to say note the importance of maintaining good terms with Russia regarding international situations. The Iranian issue was treated on good terms with Russia, it is working with them that we resolved it. With the Syrian issue we [France and Russia] have serious differences, but we know that only with Russia can we manage it, which is why I was with my colleague [Sergei] Lavrov in Berlin last Saturday."