Russian Navy chief Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said the contract to buy the Mistral-class ship from France should be signed in Paris at the Euronaval 2010 defense show in October or Russia may lag behind in the ship building industry.
“I hope Russian and French specialists will draft the Mistral contract by the start of the Euronaval event,” Vysotsky said.
“If we do not sign a contract on the Mistral, we will greatly lag behind in the speed and rate of our construction of such ships,” the Navy commander said.