After invading its much smaller neighbor, Georgia, in 2008, Russia realized that it was unable to control the Georgian coast. They concluded that foreign ship technology was needed. In August 2009, Russia arranged to purchase 2 French Mistral class amphibious assault ships. This deal also includes sharing of engineering and project management expertise which will enable Russia to build these ships. The result will be a larger threat and more belligerence, particularly for other Black Sea nations. Greed has lead France to defend this decision ($1.7 billion) and argue that the ships themselves are not military. That is, until they are outfitted with arms, which will surely happen. France made a risky gamble and this must be stopped now before the first Mistral delivery this year



