A French defense official announced Monday that France has agreed to sell one advanced warship Mistral to Russia, but was considering other three orders from the same buyer.

France has already approved the sale of one Mistral vessel, but Russia defense officials later applied for three more, Jacques de Lajugie, the director of international development at the French ordnance agency DGA, said at a news conference.

France "is in the process of examining the new request," Lajugie said, adding that a decision will be made in the coming weeks.

Mistral is one of France's most advanced assault ship which weighs 23,700 tons and can carry 16 helicopters besides other weapons and troops.

Russia is looking for the vessels to promote efficient navy action in the Black Sea, which already aroused intensive concerns among its neighbours, such as Georgia and Lithuania.

Although French Prime Minister Francois Fillon asserted the sale would be "with precautions" and France was committed to maintaining peace between Georgia and Russia, some U.S. senators still opposed the sale in late December when only one Mistral was concerned, saying the deal disturbed NATO allies and Russian neighbours.

The ship, the second largest in the French fleet, is estimated to sell at around 500 million U.S. dollars and it would be the first time a NATO nation provides such advanced arms to Russia.

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