France said Tuesday it could suspend its controversial sale of warships to Russia in the event of sanctions against Russia being escalated over Moscow's action in Ukraine.

But Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the billion euro ($1.4 billion) contract, which supports 1,000 French jobs, would only be put on the line if other European Union governments were also prepared to agree to action which could be damaging to their own interests.

Fabius's comments appeared to be specifically directed at Britain. In an interview on Monday evening he said any move on the Mistral warships would have to be accompanied by action against London-based Russian oligarchs, which could hurt Britain's financial sector and have implications for the broader economy.

The remarks underlined the problems involved in EU governments going beyond the limited visa bans and asset freezes they have approved so far.

Referring to a 2011 contract to provide two Mistral helicopter assault ships, Fabius said: "What is being envisaged is the suspension of these contracts but ... that would only be in the event of us moving to a third level of sanctions and we are not there yet."

The foreign minister said he hoped such a move would not be necessary but acknowledged it could be a real possibility.

"There is no reason why it should only be France who takes this kind of action," he told Europe 1 radio.

"It can only be envisaged in the framework of a general suspension involving other European countries.

"On the one hand we cannot envisage supplying Russia indefinitely with arms given the way it has behaved, on the other hand there is the reality of jobs and the economy."

On Monday, talking to TF1 television, Fabius explicitly said France would expect Britain to "do the equivalent with the assets of Russian oligarchs in London. Sanctions have to touch everyone."

Fabius confirmed that he and France's defence minister had cancelled a visit to Moscow that had been scheduled for Tuesday, saying it would have been inappropriate on a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin was enshrining in law the annexation of Crimea.

But he confirmed that Putin's invitation to the June 6 commemorations of D-Day had not been rescinded.

French officials were forced to clarify comments made by Fabius which could have been interpreted as meaning Russia had been expelled from the G8 group of leading economies.

That option remains under review but no decision has been taken, they said.

The other seven countries in the G8 agreed last week to suspend preparations for a scheduled summit in Sochi, Russia, in June in protest over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.