国际英语新闻:France to decide on suspended Mistral deal with Russia by summer end: PM

PARIS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- France, which suspended the delivery of of two Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia due to Ukrainian crisis, would announce "important decisions" in the coming month after reports revealed a compensation deal between Paris and Moscow, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced on Friday.

"We will have the opportunity to speak about that in few days, in few weeks. Important decisions will be taken before the end of summer," Valls said at the end of a cabinet meeting.

On Thursday, Russian media reported that France and Russia reached a compensation deal for the cancellation of the vessels' delivery.

Paris would pay Moscow 1.2 billion euros (1.31 billion U. S. dollars) for going back on the two warships order, initially scheduled to be delivered on November 2014.

After pressure to suspend the 1.2-billion-euro deal amid escalating violence between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists, French President Francois Hollande in September last year decided to halt the delivery of the Mistral warship to Russia following the worsening situation in Ukraine despite diplomatic efforts to end the crisis peacefully.

But the eurozone's second largest power, already dogged by a fragile growth, high budget deficit and alarming unemployment, could face further challenges to put its finances in order because of the eventual billion of euros compensation claims. (1 euro = 1.09 U.S. dollars)