France does not take Putin's threats in his new nuclear doctrine seriously.

France does not feel fear regarding the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's decision to add new reasons for launching a nuclear strike, stated the country's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

“This is merely rhetoric. We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by these threats,” he said during an interview on Cnews, as reported by moscowtimes.eu.

According to the minister, Putin has been using nuclear blackmail for “the last two and a half years to cause concern” among NATO countries.

He added that this shift in Russia's nuclear doctrine was not a surprise, particularly because it was announced by Putin a few weeks ago.

At the same time, the minister reiterated French President Emmanuel Macron's call to Putin to return to “common sense” and maintain a responsible approach to the use of nuclear weapons. Barrot also reminded that Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, the minister does not believe that granting Ukraine permission to strike Russia with Western long-range missiles can be seen as NATO aggression.

Barrot emphasized that Moscow itself provoked this escalation by involving North Korea in the war and other actions.

At the same time, the head of the foreign ministry believes that the current situation will not hinder peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia and may even allow Kyiv to enter them from a stronger position.

Background. As reported, on Tuesday, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin approved a revision to the nuclear doctrine, which stipulates that Moscow's use of nuclear weapons will be based on a “critical threat” to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belarus and Russia, which now includes strikes on Russia with long-range weapons.