TALLINN. Feb 26 (Interfax) - France says the sale of a Mistral class helicopter carrier to Russia could signal the absolute end of the Cold War, said French Secretary of State for European Affairs Pierre Lellouche.
"The Russian government addressed three European states in April 2009 to consider the chance to buy three transportation vessels. France made the following political decision: if we want to put an end to the Cold War and treat Russia as a partner, we cannot categorically say no to it," Lellouche said at a press conference in Tallinn on Friday.
In this case, France and Russia should be prepared to discuss this project together, he said.
"Or there is another option: to say to Russia 'no, you are not our partner, and then an embargo will be in effect in relation to you'," he said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy had earlier cited French-German relations as an example of true partnership and suggested that "the same relations of interaction should be established between Russia and the European Union," Lellouche said.
He praised cooperation between Russia and European states in Afghanistan and Chad and their joint steps to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
"This is not too much, but it marks the beginning," Lellouche said.
"If the deal goes through - and we are only discussing technical details so far and the matter hasn't gone as far as negotiations - we will surely discuss this issue with our partners, something we did in Estonia today, in a very friendly and sober manner," he said.
"Such a deal can become only the first step toward such cooperation, and there is something to debate on here. We are trying to start the process, and it implies the desire to go ahead and overcome our past differences rather than focus narrowly on history," he said.