WELL DONE FRANCE!
 

Looks like the French have made a bold move that they should be proud of by withholding delivery of the warships to Russia:D.
How much difference would they make to the Russian capability though?

OAP

Minimal difference.

My guess is that they will sell them to someone else, who will sell them to the Russkis while the Gauls tournent l'oeil aveugle and deny all knowledge of subterfuge.

Capetonian - Indeed. How long before Nauru puts out a UOR for a helicopter carrier?

;)

Perhaps they could also consider witholding delivery of illegal immigrants to the UK :ok:

BBC News - Calais mayor warns of blockade over illegal migration

If we weren't skint...
 

.. we could use ships like these.

Mistral-class amphibious assault ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

However, and before everyone points out that we are broke, I know we are broke. But to dream, they would be better amphibs than the QE class and outlast Ocean.

Regards
Batco

Yeah but think of the extra cost in order to make them suitable for those with Hearts of Oak.

Would it be cheaper to change all the plug sockets or buy a job lot of compatible iPod chargers?

Nice decision, and good to see someone saying something positive about the Snail-munchers.

Do we need them? Can we afford them? Would we buy French, instead of giving BAe or whoever twice as much ££££ for less?

As to how UK blocks Calais, would Jacques approve of a couple of Bns of squaddies on their soil protecting our 'outer border'?

Probably only a temporary situation.

1: Halt delivery of Vladivostok
2: Assist in negotiation of a ceasefire
3: Deliver Vladivostok
4: Feign shock when ceasefire is broken shortly after delivery

(Repeat for Sevastopol.)

Not that France is unique: the UK's cross-party Commons Committees on Arms Export Controls reported in July that 251 arms export licences to Russia were still active, with a value of £132 million. Items covered by the permits include sniper rifles, night sights and various munitions components.

I/C

Short term zilch.

Long term it might encourage them to build their own.

That said, its a bit unwise supplying your a country that is determined to be a potential enemy with capital equipment.

If you don't, someone else will.

And as you say, they can always build there own.

Better hope the French have a much better energy policy than the UK and goods gas stocks; might be chilly this winter!

To be honest the last thing the RN needs is extra amphib capability - we've got tonnes of it and don't use most of it in role. There is only 1 LPD active at any one time and the LSD(A) seems to be spending a lot of time doing non amphib stuff.

I'm all for getting new kit, but don't think we need to buy more amphib stuff when what we've got is perfectly good at the moment for what we need to do - the sort of funds we're talking about would go a long way to sorting the MPA replacement out.

More pertinently, have you seen the interior of a Russian warship - I suspect any RN crew assigned to these ships would mutiny very quickly. Check out photos on the state of the Kuznetzov.

If this brewhaha ends with Vlad and company heading home, they'll get the ships.

I would suggest that, if they could build their own, they would have! The fact that they bought the Mistrals from France suggests they can't.

The French produce on average 120% of there electricity requirements from non fossil fuel methods 100% of the time, as such they export on average 20% of it. They have roughly 100% Nuclear and 20% Hydro. Those figures obviously go up and down depending on the base load.

The Frogs don't need gas and can tell Putin where to go. That doesn't mean they don't use gas, for heating, but they don't have to.

France should deliver the ships, after a little additional feature is added. A nice, well hidden, remote controlled self destruct system.:ok:


Mr. Putin, really, your new ship was getting ready to land some troops and it suddenly sank? No idea how that could have happened, did you read all the user manuals we sent along?:E

Unless there's a "kill" switch.

"How would Jacques approve of couple of bn's of squaddies protecting our outer border..." Or alternatively we could modify our benefit system such that we're not viewed as"Eldorado" by migrants who hop over numerous borders to get here.

Its outrageous of the French to do this. I hope Russia get the ships eventually. Russia should know better than to try and deal with the west though.

I don't know - Arctic convoys of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They went on to beat Nazi Germany for us with terrible loss of life. How did the west repay them decades later?! By extending NATO, the North Atlantic Terrorist Organisation all the way right up to the borders of Russia. The Russian government are the good guys here and the west are up to their usual dirty tricks. Its all about control, the west wishes to dominate the entire world while Russia is only really concerned about maintaining control of nations close to it, their own backyard.

I dare say there will be a fair few veterans in this country and many others how might take exception to that, especially as it was Britain alone that kept the fight going against the Nazis while the Soviet Union was hiding behind its Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. That said, no one in the West would deny the sacrifice that the Russian people made in WW2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublespeak


NATO has always bordered Russia/USSR (think Turkey), and as has been said here before, NATO is not expanding east, it's the East looking to join NATO (the reason being Russia of course). But you're not interested in arguing the facts Ronald from 'Cornwall', so will leave it at that.

And that'll be why they want to join NATO, probably.

Without the Soviets its almost certain Nazi Germany would not have been defeated.


Washington and Bonn promised Gorbachev that NATO would not move eastwards at the end of the cold war. This promise was broken. The west cannot be trusted, as simple as that. There was no reason on our part to grant NATO membership for any former Soviet or Warsaw Pact nations. Its not as if they have brought significant military capabilities to the alliance and allowing them to join has made a future war more likely. Seems to me the so called alliance is rapidly spreading far away from the North Atlantic! Its an organisation that has no worthwhile role in the modern era and should be abolished as soon as possible.


You need to re-evaluate who the bad guys are Mel!

Your quote:

My quote:

The two are not mutually exclusive. I do however, disagree with your earlier statement for the reasons I've given (and others).

If you want to talk about broken promises Ronald, we can talk about the promise that Russia made to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. How is that working out?

No reason other than these nations all requested it because they know better than anyone how Russia regards its neighbours. You said it yourself You need to get your news from somewhere other than RT.

The fact is Ronald, I am not on here pretending to be someone/something I am not. Can you say the same, Ronald from 'Cornwall'.

You need to re-evaluate your location Ronnie. I hear Novosibirsk is pleasant this time of year......

Ronald Reagan

I assume that you feel that the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, under which the Ukraine relinquished the stockpile of nuclear weapons, the third largest in the word, for guarantees of territorial integrity, a treaty signed by The Russian Federation, The United States and The United Kingdom, has no relevance here?

If you breach an agreement, in most peoples eyes you are a bad guy....

RT is one of the few good sources of news left. One has to ignore every western media source due to pro western propaganda.
The west is like 1984, everything is controlled and monitored. Its all about the continuation of the western elite remaining in power no matter what the cost.
That's what the cold war was about, its got nothing to do with saving so called democracy but everything to do with keeping the elite rich, they would have lost it all had communism prevailed!
Now they wish to control the Ukraine as they control all of eastern Europe. Eventually they wish to control Russia to and all those resources.

No Philip, Britain has no need to honour it, certainly not after the coup in Kiev when the elected President was ousted in a western coup.


If Russia wants to rebuild the whole USSR then let them, who on earth wants to risk World War 3 and nuclear destruction of the world to prevent it. We lived with the USSR before and we can do it again.

Careful Ronald, the mask is slipping. Surely you mean 'we' and not 'they'....

I suppose that if the Russian Federation has decided not to honour the treaty as regards the territorial integrity of The Ukraine, The Ukraine could ask for the Thermo Nuclear Weapons back....

Ronalds firing on all cylinders today, must be a slow day at the office in Moscow.

It sad that in the twentieth century a major power and their supporters don't believe in the basic right to self determination.

Vlad's puppet said

"If Russia wants to rebuild the whole USSR then let them, who on earth wants to risk World War 3 and nuclear destruction of the world to prevent it. We lived with the USSR before and we can do it again."

That is an interesting point. When two large parties have nuclear weapons and live next to each other and one party sends troops to invade invade a sovereign state one of those parties is surely risking escalation.
Anyone can live in cloud cookoo land but the fact is that we weren't discussing a threat of WW3 BEFORE the Crimea annex, were we Ronald?

After picking myself up off the floor from howling with laughter at that statement, I showed it to my wife who hails from your part of the world - Russia that is, not Cornwall.
Her response was 'Tell him to go ask the journalists from RT why they keep resigning then...'

I've said it before, but it seems especially apt for Ronald and his blinkered view of Russia, Ukraine, and NATO; 'There are none so blind as those that choose not to see'.

and while we're on the subject of agreements
 

Remind me how Berlin ended up well inside East Germany? :ugh:

Remember it did not start with the Russian liberation of Crimea but the western coup in Kiev, that's how this all began. The evil and immoral expansionism of the puppet EU with the full backing and support of the American Empire. Russia is right to stick up for the people of Novorossiya and bring them freedom and liberation.
Its great to see a nation stand up to the EU and US. The sooner China replaces the USA as the most powerful nation on Earth the better off the world will be.

I'm beginning to think we may have misidentified Ronnie. He's beginning to sound a lot like this bloke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Da..._(cropped).jpg

and his entirely credible theories.....

Reptilians - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RR, If we - that's the Brits and, initially, the Brits alone - had not made war on Germany with all means at our disposal, Hitler could have turned on Russia at his leisure. Had he attacked in full force before Russian production, defence and supply was rearranged he stood a good chance of winning.

Now you're just copying-and-pasting your earlier rants.