France May Have Found a Buyer for Its Two Mistral Warships

PARIS, Sept 18 (Reuters) – France is assured it’ll wrap up the sale of two Mistral warships to a brand new purchaser within the subsequent few weeks after it cancelled their supply to Russia, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian informed the newspaper Le Monde.

“Several countries have lined up to buy the two boats,” Le Drian mentioned in an interview printed on Friday. “I am rather optimistic about the fact we’ll find a buyer in the coming weeks.”

Sources near the matter informed Reuters final month that France was in talks to promote the 2 helicopter carriers to Egypt after their sale to Russia was cancelled.

Cairo has sought to spice up its army energy within the face of a two-year-old insurgency primarily based within the Sinai peninsula and a battle in neighbouring Libya that would spill over into Egypt.

A sale would additionally match France’s current technique of favouring predominantly Sunni Arab nations, each politically and commercially, over their Shi’ite rival Iran. (Reporting by Michel Rose, modifying by Larry King)

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