France won't retaliate with nuclear weapons if Russia uses them in Ukraine – Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo:REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)
France would not respond with nuclear weapons if Russia attacked Ukraine with a tactical nuke, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview aired on French television.
“Our doctrine rests on the fundamental
interests of the nation,” Macron said during a live interview with public
broadcaster France 2 on Oct. 12
“These are defined clearly and wouldn’t be directly affected at all if, for example, there was a ballistic nuclear attack in Ukraine, (or) in the region,” the French president said, apparently referring to the possibility of a demonstrative nuclear strike by Russia in the Black Sea area, as well as mainland Ukraine.
“Russia possesses nuclear weapons, as does France. Our doctrine on this subject is unambiguous. Deterrence works,” Macron said.
“The less we talk about it, the less we blow up the threat, the more trust we gain. Too many people talk about it.”
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, after announcing mobilization in Russia on Sept. 21, once again threatened Western countries with the use of nuclear weapons, saying that “it was not a bluff.”
The U.S. is developing a plan of response to any potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with CNN on Oct. 3.
Berlin takes Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine very seriously, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung on Sept. 3.
The NSDC of Ukraine called the spreading of news in the Western media about Russia's preparations for a nuclear attack on Ukraine “another stage of information terrorism” organized by the RF in order to force Ukraine to negotiations on the Kremlin's terms.
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