Poland and Baltic nations welcome Macron's nuclear deterrent proposal

Poland and Baltic nations welcomed Thursday a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to launch talks about using France's nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats, a move Moscow quickly dismissed as "extremely confrontational."

The comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined European Union (EU) leaders in Brussels for an emergency summit on defense and security.

On Wednesday, Macron said he has decided to open a "strategic debate" on using France's nuclear deterrent to protect European allies amid concerns over potential U.S. disengagement. The French president described Moscow a "threat to France and Europe," in a televised address to the nation.

France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday Macron's speech was "extremely confrontational."

"One can conclude that France thinks more about war, about continuing the war," he said during a regular call with journalists.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed Peskov, saying during a news conference in Moscow that Macron's comments were a "threat" against Russia.

Poland praises a "significant" proposal In Brussels, several eastern European nations welcomed Macron's move.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said "we must seriously consider this proposal."
He noted that "as always, the details matter, but France's willingness in this regard is very significant."

Baltic nations also showed interest in Macron's offering as they push for more defense spending by EU countries to avoid any future aggression by neighboring Russia. Lithuania's President Gitanas Naus?da praised a "very interesting idea."

"We have high expectations because a nuclear umbrella would serve as really very serious deterrence towards Russia," Naus?da said.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Sili?a called the French proposal "an opportunity to discuss," stressing that more time was needed to have
talks with other European allies and at the domestic level.

France has an estimated 290 nuclear warheads

The Federation of American Scientists, or FAS, says France maintains the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 290 nuclear warheads.

France's arsenal consists of ballistic missiles deployed on its nuclear-powered submarines, which represent approximately 80% of the country's warheads, and air-launched cruise missiles carried by long-range bombers.