

Russian shipyards are ready to build Mistral class helicopter carriers whenever they receive orders from the military, industry officials said.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said earlier on Monday that Russia had reached the final stage of pre-contract talks with France, Spain and the Netherlands on the purchase of four of the French warships.
"Russia has experience in the construction of similar ships during the Soviet era, for example the Ivan Rogov class military transport ships, so we do not see any problems in fulfilling this contract," spokesman Igor Ryabov told RIA Novosti news service.
Russia built three Ivan Rogov class amphibious transport ships during the Soviet era. One of them, the Mitrofan Moskalenko, is still in service with the Russian Navy but has been put on a Defense Ministry list of assets for sale.