Kremlin Blasts 'Confrontational' Macron Speech on Russian Threat, Nuclear Weapons
French President Emmanuel Macron's speech calling Russia a threat to Europe and suggesting Paris would consider putting other countries under its nuclear protection has been condemned by the Kremlin as highly confrontational. The Russian government accused Macron of omitting important facts and failing to acknowledge Russia's legitimate concerns about NATO's eastwards expansion towards its borders. Macron also proposed extending France's nuclear arsenal protection to other European countries, which was seen as a "claim to nuclear leadership in Europe" by the Kremlin.
- This provocative speech highlights the deepening divide between Russia and Western nations over issues of national security, with each side increasingly relying on rhetoric and symbolic gestures rather than concrete diplomacy.
- How will Macron's comments be received in Eastern Europe, where NATO's expansion has been a contentious issue for years?