Russia Now Opting Only for Domestically-Built Navy: Deputy Prime Minister

Commenting on the Mistral delivery issue, Russian deputy prime minister said that the Mistral contract highlighted the problem of Russia’s technical dependency on another countries.

MOSCOW, December 9 (Sputnik) — Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday that Russia would no longer rely on foreign contracts for building its naval fleet.

"We’re going to build our fleet ourselves and only in our country," Rogozin, who is also the deputy head of the Russian government’s Military-Industrial Commission, said on his Twitter account.

The statement comes two weeks after French President Francois Hollande had put on hold the long-awaited delivery of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia citing the situation in Ukraine.

Commenting on the issue, Rogozin said last week that the Mistral contract was a mistake and “highlighted the problem of [Russia’s] technical dependency on another country."

Russia and France signed a 1.2 billion euro ($1.6 billion) deal for two Mistral-class ships in June 2011. The handover of the first ship, named the Vladivostok, was scheduled for November 14, but it did not take place.

On Monday, Russian president’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, said that Moscow's position on the delivery of the Mistral-class helicopter carriers from France boils down to two options: either the ships are delivered or France should refund the money paid for the ships.

The Mistral deal is the biggest contract ever signed between Russia and France in the sphere of military-technical cooperation.