Eurasia Press & News
Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said official Tbilisi is “tremendously worried” about Russia’s possible purchase of French helicopter carrier amphibious assault warships.
“The only destination of this kind of ship is the Black Sea,” Vashadze said at the French International Relations Institute (IFRI) in Paris.
“The consequences might be devastating … We are tremendously worried,” he said, adding that Georgia “simply would like to understand why Russia would need such an assault vessel.”
Head of Russia’s naval forces Vladimir Vysotsky said in September that a warship ship like the Mistral would have allowed the Russian navy to carry out more efficient operations in the Black Sea during last year’s August war with Georgia. He also said such a warship would take just 40 minutes to do the task that the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships did in 26 hours.
