Friday 14 October 2022 02:34 AM Ben Wallace rebukes Emmanuel Macron for 'revealing his hand' by saying he WON'T ... trends now
Defence secretary Ben Wallace has rebuked Emmanuel Macron after the French president ruled out launching a nuclear strike on Russia.
The UK's secretary of state for defence said Mr Macron had revealed his hand by confirming that if Vladimir Putin goes nuclear in Ukraine then France would not repay it in kind.
There are raised tensions that the Russian president could authorise a nuclear attack as his illegal invasion of Ukraine continues to falter, although the Kremlin has denied it intends to use its arsenal.
In recent weeks Nato allies have repeatedly warned that the consequences for Russia would be dire if it did launch such an attack, although the exact nature of these has been left deliberately ambiguous.
And these threats will loom large in the mind of Putin as nuclear bombers take off from bases in Britain next week in a drill to simulate a nuclear strike on his country.
The nuclear-readiness drill, which will take place over the course of next week, will see dozens of aircraft from Nato allies scrambled as part of the drill and in united show of force.
French president Emmanuel Macron appeared to confirm France would not use nuclear weapons if Russia used its own nukes in Ukraine in an interview on French television (pictured)
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace appeared to rebuke Mr Macron by saying he had 'revealed' his hand
It comes as the US sends B-52 bombers (pictured right) over the Atlantic to take part in Nato nuclear readiness drills
However, a chink in that united front appeared yesterday when Mr Macron seemed to rule out using his country's nuclear arsenal in the event of a strike by Putin for fear of causing a 'global war'.
Speaking with state broadcaster France 2, he said: 'Our doctrine rests on the fundamental interests of the nation. They are defined clearly and wouldn't be directly affected at all if, for example, there was a ballistic nuclear attack in Ukraine.'
When asked about the French president's comments at a Nato meeting in Brussels yesterday, Mr Wallace said it 'reveals President Macron's hand'.
He added: 'Our view is if Russia were to use a nuclear weapon, there would be severe consequences for Russia. It would be breaking the 1945 taboo on the use of nuclear weapons. And it would leave him incredibly isolated globally.'
The Telegraph quotes sources at Nato as saying Mr Macron's words could upset the 'principles of deterrence' and that he should not 'talk about it publicly'.
France would not use a nuclear weapon against Russia if it used one of its own atomic weapons against Ukraine, the French President has said (File image: Russian nuclear missile)
A senior Nato source said Mr Macron (pictured) should not have talked publicly about what would happen if Putin used nuclear weapons in Ukraine
NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels yesterday as they discuss military aid to Ukraine, ahead of a meeting to plan an upcoming nuclear exercise
The day before a senior Nato source said Russia would 'almost certainly be drawing a physical response from many allies, and potentially from Nato itself' if it did strike.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg added that there would be 'severe consequences' should nuclear weapons be used, but refused to give any details on NATO's potential response.
Mr Stoltenberg warned Moscow of 'severe consequences' should it use any kind of nuclear weapon
