Russia calls French nuclear comments a 'threat'; EU shifts on defence, 'Macron was right'

Russia calls French nuclear comments a 'threat'; EU shifts on defence, 'Macron was right'
by AFP Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Mar 6, 2025

Russia views comments by President Emmanuel Macron about extending France's nuclear deterrent to other European countries as a "threat", Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Lavrov also reaffirmed his country's opposition to European forces being deployed in Ukraine if an accord was made to halt the conflict.

Macron on Wednesday called Russia a "threat to France and Europe" and said France was "legitimately worried" about the United States shifting its position on the Ukraine conflict under US President Donald Trump.

The French leader said he would open a debate on extending France's nuclear deterrent, following a phone conversation with Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"Of course it is a threat against Russia. If he sees us as a threat... and says that it is necessary to use a nuclear weapon, is preparing to use a nuclear weapon against Russia, of course it is a threat," Lavrov said at a press conference.

In an apparent jab at France, Russian President Vladimir Putin said later: "There are still people who want to return to the times of Napoleon, forgetting how it ended."

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Russian Empire in 1812 in a disastrous six-month military campaign that ended in Russian victory.

Macron hit back at Putin after a summit in Brussels on Thursday, branding the Russian president an "imperialist" who sought to "rewrite history".

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier Thursday that Macron was "detached from reality" and making "contradictory statements".

Macron also reaffirmed that European military forces could be sent to Ukraine if a peace accord was signed to guarantee "respect" of a deal.

- 'No room for compromise' -

Lavrov said Russia was unwavering in its opposition to the deployment of European forces in Ukraine as peacekeepers, suggesting they would not be impartial.

"We see no room for compromise. This discussion is being held with an overtly hostile aim," he added.

Russia would consider such troops in the same way as it would view a NATO presence in Ukraine, Lavrov said.

He compared Macron to Hitler and Napoleon, saying that unlike those leaders, Macron did not openly say he wanted to conquer Russia, but he "evidently wants the same thing".

Macron is making "stupid accusations against Russia" that Putin has dismissed as "madness and nonsense", he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Macron's speech "extremely confrontational", saying Russia felt that "France wants the war to continue."

Macron is saying that "Russia has become practically an enemy of France" but not that NATO's military presence is encroaching on Russia's borders, he said.

Defence Minister Andrey Belousov visited Russia's nuclear weapons development laboratory on Thursday.

During the visit he told nuclear scientists the army was looking forward to getting its hands on "new developments" in the near future, the defence ministry said in a statement.

EU shifts on defence -- and concedes maybe 'Macron was right'
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 6, 2025 - As EU capitals line up behind the message that Europe must guarantee its own security, French President Emmanuel Macron could be forgiven for thinking... "I told you so".

It is a message Macron has repeatedly drummed home since coming to power in 2017: Europe must be more self-sufficient on defence and break free from dependence on the United States.

Today, his stance is being largely vindicated as President Donald Trump seeks a rapprochement with Russia and makes it clear Washington will not indefinitely underwrite Europe's security.

Macron is one of a long line of French leaders to be wary of US pre-eminence in NATO. France, which like Britain has its own nuclear arsenal, has since Charles de Gaulle was leader in the 1960s been more sceptical of the United States.

Now that European capitals are reaching a consensus that the United States may not be a reliable partner, many are also conceding -- with varying degrees of reluctance -- that "Macron was right," in the words of one diplomat.

The bloc's 27 leaders gave the European Commission approval at a summit Thursday to press ahead with plans to mobilise hundreds of billions of euros to boost Europe's defences as a bulwark against Russia.

And a sea change is taking place in Germany, Europe's number one economy, which has suggested strict EU spending rules should be changed to allow more long term defence expenditure. Such talk from Berlin would have been unthinkable a year ago.

"Many European capitals have to learn -- what we have done in several decades -- in only a few weeks," Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told France Inter radio Thursday.

"The risk for us French is to appear as being a little chauvinistic and a little 'we told you so'," he conceded.

France's sense of vindication has -- indeed -- drawn pushback too.

"Apparently some people have time to gloat about being right. The rest of us are busy making things right for Ukraine," quipped one EU diplomat.

"It is not so much a question of who said it first and, in any case, many European leaders have spoken in recent years about strengthening European defence and security," another diplomat told AFP.

- Macron's 'judgement error' -

Political analyst Sebastien Maillard of the Jacques Delors Institute argued that Macron set the right tone on European defence, but made an "error of judgement about the Russian threat".

"History proves Macron right on strategic autonomy," Maillard told AFP, but his big 2017 speech on the subject was "somewhat discredited" by failing to believe US, British and Polish intelligence predicting Moscow's invasion.

One diplomat from an eastern European state pointed out meanwhile that the region had been warning for "years" about the risks Russia posed.

"The French did not listen and did business with Russia. So, we could also say this is an 'I told you so' moment from the eastern perspective," they said.

Another diplomat argued France analysed the crisis correctly but "did not apply their own ideas" including sending "more military aid to Ukraine", although Paris has defended its record on support to Kyiv.

- EU 'aligned' -

There also remains fundamental resistance in some quarters to Macron's strategic autonomy push -- on the grounds that the bloc's security apparatus is not ready to be wholly European.

When France argues for developing Europe's defence industry, some critics also hear a bid to enrich its own companies.

"Of course one can say that Macron is right, yes, and we're all very much aligned now," an EU diplomat said.

But the diplomat argued that "openness for third countries" was needed to "build our defence and our defence industry in the best way when it comes to scaling up -- and that cannot only be European".

Nonetheless, the emerging consensus around boosting Europe's defences is seen as creating an opportunity for Europe's two biggest economies to unite on a matter of vital importance.

Maillard recalled that Macron's autonomy push was "badly received" in Berlin in 2017.

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, who has called for a massive defence surge, could be just the partner the French leader has "lacked", he said.

Polish PM hails Macron's 'very promising' nuclear comments
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 6, 2025 - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday that France's offer to discuss extending its nuclear umbrella to other European nations was "very promising".

Scandinavian leaders, traditionally reserved on nuclear matters, gave the proposal a cautious welcome but Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that in the current security circumstances, "everything must be on the table now".

Leaders of the 27 European Union states are in Brusseles for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and aim to cement support for the war-torn country after US President Donald Trump's freeze on military aid to Kyiv.

President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that he would discuss extending France's nuclear deterrent to other European nations.

"This readiness of France, this is something very promising," Tusk told reporters in Brussels, adding: "We have to treat this proposal seriously."

He also reiterated a call for Europe to strengthen its defences against Russia.

"It must be one of our priorities to coordinate all our capacities in Europe and to build, in fact, one well-coordinated military power. This is what can give us a clear advantage towards Russia," Tusk said.

"Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race, and it must win it," he added.

Poland, a NATO member and a key ally of its neighbour Ukraine, also shares a border with Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and Belarus, Moscow's ally.

Macron said he would open a debate on extending France's nuclear deterrent, following a call from Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Merz, whose right-wing party won Germany's elections, said last month he wanted a discussion on "nuclear sharing" with France and Britain, Europe's only nuclear powers other than Russia.

In April, Poland's President Andrzej Duda said his country was ready to host NATO's nuclear arms. Moscow in response warned it would take steps to "ensure its security".

Denmark's Frederiksen said her country was open to discussions on Macron's proposal. "It's not something that we're working on but you won't hear me say no to other people's ideas."

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also welcomed the debate.

"Like most people, the Swedes want to have as few nuclear weapons as possible but at the moment we should be happy and grateful that two of our neighbours (France and the UK) have nuclear weapons," he said.