France will wait until next month to decide whether to deliver the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
French President Francois Hollande had for months resisted pressure from Washington and other allies to scrap the 1.2 billion euro ($1.58 billion) contract before choosing last month to push back the original end-October delivery date.
He said then that he would only hand over the first carrier - the Vladivostok - if there was a lasting ceasefire and a political settlement in Ukraine.
'The president ... said that if the political conditions did not change he did not envisage giving the authorisation for delivery,' Le Drian told reporters.