Europe Watch: French Warships to Russia

On Wednesday Russia, fulfilling an agreement in principle reached four weeks ago, announced that it plans to buy four Mistral-class warships from France.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that, with the first deal between a NATO member and a former Soviet state, he wanted to turn the page on the Cold War; Russia must be a partner, not a threat. Sarkozy added that the deal will build trust at a time when West is seeking Russian support on issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme:

Can we say to President Medvedev in the morning, "Ah, I trust you, vote with us at the Security Council, work with us on the same resolution against Iran," then in the afternoon, tell him, "No no, excuse us, as we don’t trust you and we don’t work together — we won’t send you the Mistral?

The Mistral-class ships can deploy 16 helicopters, four landing barges, and up to 70 armoured vehicles, including 13 battle tanks, and 450 troops.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania expressed their concerns about Russia’s intentions. Estonia’s military chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ants Laaneots, said, "We don't know what they are going to do with a Mistral, are they going to keep them in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the northern fleet?" Harri Tiido, the undersecretary for political affairs at the Estonian Foreign Ministry, argued, “Definitely, it would not add to the security of the region. And I think the nations around the Baltic Sea in that case would have to see what they have to do to change their defense planning, maybe; but also, it could influence the defense planning of NATO." Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili declared that the sale is a threat for his country and Eastern Europe.

Some concerns emphasized Russia's new strategic doctrine on NATO, which labels the expanded alliance a threat, and a Baltic war-games scenario last year that included a pincer operation cutting off Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Francois Heibourg, an adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, while noting that Russia's demand is understandable, assessed, “The Mistral is a considerable strategic tool: Russia's power projection capability will be much increased in the Black Sea, the Baltic, and even far into Asia."

Comments

[Doug]

Have you gone mad, Mr. French President Nicolas Sarkozy ? For today, Russia is at best tomorrow's enemy. Where in your mind will you draw today's Maginot Line? The Russians will outflank you in new ways. Again you will be surprised and find that the Russians are not gentlemen as Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili already knows. President Obama took down his nuclear defense project because of Russian objections and what did he get for the gesture --- nothing. Who will be tomorrow's Finland-Norway-Holland-France sequence equivalent?

[James]

The Mistral Class is insignificant for the most part. Its a glorified container ship with the *capability* to carry offensive weapons - though even the French havent mounted the Mauser on the front of theirs yet. It is very vulernable to assymetric, i.e. anti-ship missile attack, and would therefore need an accompanying modern fleet, which the Russians do not have - to support it. If Russia truly wanted to cut off Estonia, Latvia and the like it could do with air strikes in a matter of days what the entire Baltic Fleet plus their new subs would need a week for.

It has been bought for three reasons. One, to strengthen ties with NATO. Two, to deploy its elite forces where they are most needed in the event of a crisis, quickly. I.e. Sakhalin Island, or Vladivostock, should the DPRK want to make Seoul glow in the dark. Three, to rattle a few sabres against Georgia when it can't enact trade sanctions. I doubt very much that even if these ships were deployed to the Black Sea to replace the ageing Ropucha class, they would be used against Georgia.

[gunni]

doug

For sure - we are not living anymore in the times of the"cold war" and - I appreciate that there is no Mr. Reagan who is drawing the line between black and white - because there are a lot of colors between. The question is: How to get the Russians into the "boat". And that is not a question of confrontation - that`s a matter of negotiation. Can you tell me why the Russians didn`t deliver their promised missiles
to Iran ? Jafari is waiting for them since 2 years and I guess that he has to wait
for a long , long time. But anyway - lets wait and see what Medwedew is going to do at the next UN council session. We should place a bet for a coffee.