French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian remained upbeat Thursday on prospects for French engineer Dassault's planned sale of 126 Rafale fighter jets to India, despite the death of Delhi's chief negotiator this week. Talks on the sale have dragged on for months and could be threatened by a change of government after next May's general election.
Indian Defence Ministry Arun Kumar Bal suffered a fatal heart attack on Wednesday, a development that is likely to stall already slow-moving negotiations for several weeks.
But Le Drian on Thursday said he did not think it would have a negative effect on the process, although a change of government in next year's Indian election could mean a change in buying policy.
04/10/13 RFI
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Indian Defence Ministry Arun Kumar Bal suffered a fatal heart attack on Wednesday, a development that is likely to stall already slow-moving negotiations for several weeks.
But Le Drian on Thursday said he did not think it would have a negative effect on the process, although a change of government in next year's Indian election could mean a change in buying policy.
04/10/13 RFI
