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British Defense Minister Ben Wallace on Friday rebuked French President Emmanuel Macron for assuring that there would be no “nuclear response” to a Russian nuclear aggression against Ukrainian territory.
Wallace has lamented that Macron has “shown his cards” by confirming that if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to resort to the nuclear arsenal, France will not strike back, words that come in the face of rising tension over the possibility of Putin making use of these weapons.
NATO allies have repeatedly warned of the consequences of such a move for Russia, although they have not qualified the exact nature of the retaliation the alliance would take.
The United Kingdom is scheduled to carry out a series of military maneuvers next week to recreate a possible nuclear attack against the country, according to reports in the ‘Daily Mail’ newspaper.
In an interview with France 2 channel, Macron noted that his doctrine is supported by the “fundamental interests of the nation.” “This clearly implies that (France) would not be directly affected if, for example, there was a nuclear attack in Ukraine,” he said.
He also assured that “if Russia makes use of nuclear weapons, there would be serious consequences.” “It would cause it to be absolutely isolated at the global level,” he pointed out.