PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of Russian sailors pulled out of a French port Thursday, bearing perfumes for their loved ones but lacking the controversial bounty they came for: a 1-billion-euro, French-built warship that has become a hostage to the biggest East-West conflict since the Cold War.
Russia’s president at the time, Dmitry Medvedev, called it “a symbol of trust between our countries” as Russia sought to modernize its over-stretched and outdated military machine.
The sale of the ships — which could allow Russia to land hundreds of troops quickly on foreign soil — worried Russia’s neighbors, including the three Baltic countries in …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
