France has halted the delivery of the first of two warship deliveries to Russia due to the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine.
French President Francois Hollande blamed Moscow’s recent actions in supporting and arming the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine for the change in policy.
France had previously resisted pressure to halt delivery of the Mistral assault warships as tensions between Moscow and the West have become increasingly strained in recent months, causing issues for EU-wide sanctions against Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he hopes for a peace deal between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels by Friday, and Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said they had agreed a “ceasefire process”.
Speaking in Estonia, US President Barack Obama said that Nato supported Ukraine and attempted to reassure the Baltic states over perceived Russian aggression, saying:
“You’ve lost your independence once before, with Nato you’ll never lose it again,”
