France is to supply its Mistral warships to the EU foreign service instead of Russia in a move designed to forge a "genuine European defence policy".
The landmark deal comes after EU sanctions over Ukraine, last year, stopped France from transferring one of the two vessels to Russia.
It also indicates deep EU scepticism on Moscow promises to make peace.
EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini said on Wednesday (1 April): "This purchase, by an EU institution, of two am...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.