President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Tuesday of using fines against French banks to “blackmail” Paris into calling off its sale of Mistral warships to Russia as punishment for Moscow’s role in the conflict in Ukraine.
U.S. authorities imposed a record fine of almost $9 billion against French bank BNP Paribas, which pleaded guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges following accusations that it had violated U.S. sanctions against Sudan, Cuba and Iran.
“We know about the pressure that our American partners are putting on France to stop the sale of Mistrals to Russia,” Putin told Russian ambassadors gathered in Moscow.
“We …read more
Source: Voice of America
