French President Nicolas Sarkozy has defended...

The potential sale has alarmed some of Russia"s former Soviet bloc allies, including those now in NATO, especially after the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia in August 2008.

Sarkozy told U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a brief meeting on Monday that in his opinion the sale did not pose a military problem because Russia should be treated as a real partner.

"One cannot expect Russia to behave as a partner if we don"t treat it as one," Sarkozy said.

Russia earlier announced that it was considering buying one of the Mistral-class ships, worth 400-500 million euros (around $600-$750 million), and potentially building three or four vessels of the same class in partnership with the French naval shipbuilder DCNS.

A Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles including 13 battle tanks, and 450 soldiers. The vessel is equipped with a 69-bed hospital and can be used as an amphibious

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