Russia Doubts France Will Cancel Warships Sale

A senior Russian official said on Monday he doubted France would cancel its sale of warships to Russia, despite coming under pressure from other Western leaders seeking to sanction Moscow after the downing of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine.

"This is billions of euros ... the French are very pragmatic. I doubt it (that the deal will be cancelled)," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told reporters. "Suspension of the deal would be (much) less damaging for Russia than for France."

(Reporting by Daria Korsunskaya; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Vladimir Soldatkin, editing by Elizabeth Piper)