day, the deal was granted by France's DGA. It was the first major arms deal between Russia and a NATO country since the Soviet Union's acquisition of Rolls-Royce Nene and Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojet engines in 1947. NATO members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia protested the deal; Lithuania's Defence Minister Rasa Jukneviciene stated that "[i]t's a mistake. This is a precedent, when a NATO and EU member sells offensive weaponry to a country whose democracy is not at a level that would make us feel calm." Some design changes were needed, such as for compatibility with Russian Ka-52 and Ka-27 helicopters. In 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin stated that the ships would not be able to operate in Russia's climate, and required a grade of diesel fuel not produced in Russia. Russian General Staff General Nikolai Makarov announced that the first ship would be deployed to the Russian Pacific Fleet, and could transport troops to the Kuril Islands if sought. According to Nikolai Makarov, the chief reason for the Mistral purchase over domestic producers was that Russia required an unacceptable delay of ten years to develop the technologies needed. In March 2011, the deal stalled on Russian demands for sensitive NATO technologies to be included with the ships. In April 2011, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired the senior Navy official overseeing the talks with France. On 17 June 2011, the two nations signed an agreement for two ships for $1.7 billion. In September 2014, the Mistral sale was put on hold by French President Francois Hollande due to an arms embargo of Russia over the illegal Russian annexation of Crimea. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius evaluated the deal in response to the Crimean referendum and the enactment of "phase two" economic sanctions; cancelling the Mistral contract was considered to be "phase three"; Fabius noted that cancelling would damage France's economy. In May 2014, Paris had guaranteed the two ships' completion. In November 2014, the Hollande government placed a hold on the first delivery to Russia and set two conditions: a ceasefire in Ukraine and a political agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. In December 2014, Russia gave the French government a choice to deliver the two ships or refund the $1.53 billion purchase price. On 26 May 2015, Russian news agencies quoted Oleg Bochkaryov, deputy head of the Military Industrial Commission, as saying "Russia won't take them, it's an accomplished fact.