SEVERODVINSK. July 20 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will not buy the Project 949-a (Granit) nuclear submarine Belgorod but is thinking about other options to complete its construction, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has announced.
"The Defense Ministry doesn't need this submarine. All decisions have been made and the issue is no longer being discussed. But we are looking into other variants for completing its construction," Ivanov told reporters in Severodvinsk on Thursday.
Ivanov announced that the Defense Ministry would continue funding the project to upgrade the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov. "The funding of a project to upgrade Project 941 (Typhoon) nuclear submarines has yet to be considered," the Russian defense minister said.