Several Countries Interested In Mistral-Class Destroyer: French Defense Minister

French defense minister on Thursday said that ‘several’ nations have shown interest in buying its Mistral-class warships after Paris refused to deliver them to Russia citing Ukraine crisis.

“A certain number of countries, there are several, have made their interest known for these boats,” Jean-Yves Le Drian was quoted as saying by RTL radio.

“We couldn’t do that while the dispute was still ongoing with Russia … but now there is no more dispute,” said Le Drian.

The announcement comes at the backdrop of repaying compensation to Russia for withholding the warships.

On Wednesday, Moscow said that France had already paid back the money and it considered the matter closed, AFP reported.

In a 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) deal, France had promised to deliver the two vessels to Moscow but the agreement hit the rocks over Russia’s perceived aggression in eastern Ukraine.

The first Mistral had been due for delivery in 2014, while the second was to be delivered this year.

Le Drian declined to say exactly how much France had repaid Russia but said Paris could now press on with talking to other interested parties.

Earlier in May this year, WantChinaTimes wrote that the French Navy would try to sell the Mistral ships to other potential buyers namely Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt or India.

However, the defense minister denied rumors of possible sale of Mistrals to China. “There is an embargo on any sale of weapon to China, which we will respect,” Le Drian said.

In May, France sent a Mistral-class amphibian ship to China to participate in a joint maritime exercise with China’s People’s Liberation Army. It prompted widespread speculation that France was considering sale of two warships of the same class which were built for Russia.