A forthcoming sea trial of a French-built Mistral helicopter carrier due to be delivered to Russia has been suspended for technical reasons, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Under pressure from allies, France said last week that it wanted to see whether a ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces held before deciding whether it could deliver the ship as planned on Nov. 1.
A nine-day sea trial with Russian sailors on board was due to start on Wednesday.
'It has been suspended for several days,' the source said. 'It's no doubt a technical reason - it has nothing to do with the current situation in Ukraine.'
Four hundred Russian sailors have been based in the Atlantic port of Saint-Nazaire since June to receive training on the warship, the first of two that France agreed in 2011 to deliver as part of a 1.2 billion euro ($1.55 billion) contract with Moscow.