Moscow will take \u201call necessary measures\u201d to protect its national security, Dmitry Peskov has said<\/p>\n
Russia views France\u2019s nuclear-capable missile launch as a \u201cloud and clear message\u201d and will take \u201call necessary measures\u201d to protect itself, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.\u00a0
\nThe French military test-fired a submarine-launched M51.3 ballistic missile on Tuesday, in an exercise in the Atlantic Ocean watched by French President Emmanuel Macron. The weapon, a new variant of France\u2019s 16-year-old M51 missile family, was launched without a warhead and splashed down in the North Atlantic, \u201chundreds of kilometres from any coastline,\u201d according to the French military.\u00a0
\nIn a video message, Macron described the test as \u201ca new demonstration of the credibility of our deterrence,\u201d and \u201ca clear message\u2026 for wherever it must be received.\u201d
\nSpeaking to reporters on Wednesday, Peskov said: \u201cProblems should be resolved through dialogue, not demonstrative missile launches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEurope has become obsessed with plans to militarize the European Union,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis is bad because they are building their defense and security identity on confrontation with the Russian Federation. This is a dead end. As history has shown, this leads to nothing good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Karaganov: Russia must be prepared to use nuclear weapons<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst the backdrop of such aggressive actions and such plans, Russia is on alert,\u201d Peskov added. \u201cWe are taking all necessary measures to ensure our national security at the strategic level.\u201d
\nOutside the US, France possesses NATO\u2019s only independent nuclear arsenal, which Macron is currently modernizing and expanding. France plans to spend \u20ac7.4 billion ($8.3 billion) on nuclear deterrence in 2026, while its updated military program adds \u20ac36 billion to overall defense spending through 2030. Much of this money will be spent on multi-year submarine, missile, and warhead contracts, but a substantial sum will go toward Paris\u2019 controversial \u201cforward deterrence scheme.\u201d\u00a0
\nUnder this scheme, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the UK will potentially host French nuclear weapons on a temporary basis and take part in French nuclear exercises.
\nRussia, which possesses the world\u2019s largest nuclear arsenal, cannot view the deployment of atomic weapons on its borders \u201cas anything other than a step toward escalating tensions,\u201d Peskov said on Tuesday. Peskov was responding to the Lithuanian parliament\u2019s vote to remove a constitutional ban on hosting nuclear weapons on its soil. Although Lithuania has not signed on to France\u2019s \u201cforward deterrence\u201d plan, Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas has expressed interest in hosting American nukes in Lithuania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow will take \u201call necessary measures\u201d to protect its national security, Dmitry Peskov has said Russia views France\u2019s nuclear-capable missile launch as a \u201cloud and clear message\u201d and will take…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t