The move is likely to alarm other Nato states after Russia indicated that it was seeking a bigger deal to upgrade its armed forces with advanced Western technology. It could also raise tensions in the Black Sea, where Russia has threatened to act against Georgian naval vessels if they block ships from travelling to the separatist region of Abkhazia.

The Mistral can deploy four landing barges, 16 helicopters and up to 70 vehicles, including 13 tanks. It can also carry 450 soldiers and is equipped with a 69-bed hospital. The ship is likely to cost £350 million.

After a meeting of the Russian-French Security Cooperation Council Mr Morin said: “France is open to arms cooperation, including the possible sale of a helicopter ship to Russia.”

Mr Kouchner said that the two countries would have to reach a political agreement first but added: “If a political accord is reached I believe you will be able to buy this ship.”

General Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, has said that Moscow wants to buy up to four more ships of the same class to be jointly built in Russia.

Vladimir Popovkin, the Deputy Defence Minister, said last month that the Kremlin wanted the French ship because it was seeking technology to improve its own shipbuilding industry.

Mr Kouchner did not specify the terms of any political accord but the final decision will rest with President Sarkozy, who is likely to come under pressure from the United States not to sell advanced military hardware to Russia that could be used in any future conflict with Georgia.

Vladimir Vysotsky, Moscow’s naval commander, told reporters recently that Russia could have mobilised far more quickly in the Black Sea during last year’s war against Georgia if its navy had had a ship like the Mistral.

The plan has run into opposition from some within Russia’s defence establishment who argue that it undermines national security and harms domestic shipbuilding. It also marks a sea change in Russian defence procurement after decades when the Soviet Union relied on its own military technologies and was a major exporter of weaponry.

Russian shipbuilding is in dire need of modernisation. India is still waiting for delivery of a refitted aircraft carrier, the Soviet-era Admiral Gorshkov, under a contract signed in 2004. The vessel is two years late and is unlikely to be ready before 2012 after Russia almost doubled the price of refurbishment.

The Kremlin has embarked on a major overhaul of Russia’s Armed Forces but has already been forced to buy unmanned drone aircraft from Israel because domestic manufacturers lacked the capability to develop their own version.

The state arms monopoly, Rosoboronexport, expects to sell $6.5 billion (£4 billion) worth of military equipment this year but most of its customers are former Soviet states or countries that can not buy Western hardware.

It is also facing growing competition from China amid concern about the reliability of Russian products. Algeria tore up a contract with Russia in 2007 and returned 15 Mig-29 fighter jets after complaining about their “inferior quality”.