by Sam Roggeveen
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4 March 2010 9:54AM
Military purchases can be construed differently by various countries; it's all a matter of perspective.
On the sale of French Mistral-class amphibious ships to Russia, London Times reporter Charles Bremner quotes an unnamed former French ambassador as saying, 'It's an empty hull, just the same as a civilian ferry'. Georgian national security advisor Eka Tkeshelashvili has a less benign assessment:
It has great potential of changing the security equation for Russia, though the French have tried to downgrade that. First of all, [the French] frequently cite that it's a humanitarian ship. [But] a ship is a ship. It has great amphibious capacities for carrying arms, helicopters, armed vehicles, soldiers, having a hospital attached to it, or a military headquarters. You can use it for humanitarian purposes if you wish, or you can use it for military purposes.
(H/t Passport.)
