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Tomasz Siemoniak: Our EU partners should not sell Russia arms

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Tomasz Siemoniak: Our EU partners should not sell Russia arms

The topic of Mistral deliveries to Russia was discussed by EU defence ministers on the sidelines of the talks in Brussels.

Polskie Radio learnt it from Polish defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak.

“France is under strong pressure from the EU and NATO that insist it shouldn't sell its ships to Russia,” he said. “We cannot agree that our EU partner sells such sophisticated weapons to the country that carries out an aggressive policy and poses a potential threat to Europe.”

Tomasz Siemoniak said the issue of selling French ships to Russia, which raised much controversy, was not on the agenda, but was discussed on the sidelines of the meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels.

France was to decide by the end of last month whether it would sell Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia. The delivery contract worth more than a billion euros was signed in Paris in 2011. The question was raised after Russia had annexed Crimea and begun to destabilise the situation in eastern Ukraine.

The EU decided to impose economic sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The implementation of the contract became a problem.

“This is a difficult issue for France. The pressure on France is strong. I hope France will take a right decision guided by the interests of its NATO membership,” Siemoniak said. “Every Polish citizen and taxpayer who makes significant contributions to defence understands this situation. No one wants his ally to sell arms to the country that carries out an aggressive policy and poses a potential threat to Europe. I think France is aware of the situation and understands the context.”

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