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Malaysia, France discuss on interest to purchase Mistral warships

Xinhua, September 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Malaysian government discussed Tuesday with France on its interest to purchase Mistral helicopter carriers during French Defense Minister's visit to the country, according to Bernama, Malaysia's state news agency.

It said that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak held a high- profile meeting with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French defense industry representatives at the prime minister' s office in Putrajaya, with the attendance of Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

It quoted a member of Le Drian's delegation as saying that the two sides discussed on Malaysia's interest to purchase Mistral helicopter carriers.

Two Mistral helicopter carriers were initially built by France for Russia. However, the deal signed in 2011 was suspended in September 2014 and Paris decided to not deliver the warships to Russia over Moscow's alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict.

France is now looking for other buyers for the two ships, and the French La Tribune newspaper recently suggested that Malaysia was also a possible contender for purchasing one of the Mistral aircraft carriers. According to La Tribune, Malaysia had been interested in buying an aircraft similar to a Mistral for at least 10 years. Endi