Russia to sue France if Mistral contract canceled: official

Russia would file a lawsuit against France if the latter cancels a contract on building Mistral-class helicopter carriers for Moscow, Chief of Kremlin administration Sergei Ivanov said Thursday.

Noting it is up to Paris to decide whether or not to honor the contract, Ivanov, who was attending the annual Valdai International Discussion Club meeting in Sochi, said Moscow will act "like everywhere in a civilized world."

"Russia will sue (France) to recover the damage in case Paris fails to implement the Mistrals contract," RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.

Moscow and Paris signed a 1.6-billion-U.S.dollar contract in 2011, under which France should deliver the first Mistral-class helicopter assault warship to Moscow in October or November this year, and the second one in 2015.

In September, France suspended the delivery of the first warship, saying "conditions are not in place," as the country's President Francois Hollande put it.

Ivanov said Moscow has been reluctant to spoil Russia-France relations and sacrifice the long-term mutual interests for the sake of political objectives.

Noting that no one could isolate Russia and Moscow is not afraid of Western sanctions, Ivanov accused the West of waging information war against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Still, Ivanov said Russia is not heading to self-isolation and hopes the European Union to remain its main trade partner for years to come.

Meanwhile, Ivanov said the Group of 20 (G20) format is more important for Russia than the Group of Eight (G8).

"In the recent years, the G20 has become much more important than the G8. G8 or not G8, it is not a big loss," Ivanov said.