France has asked Germany to clarify how it would use long-range missiles in any potential conflict with Russia, amid concerns that Moscow could mistakenly interpret a conventional strike as an attack warranting a nuclear response.
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According to the Financial Times, citing officials familiar with the matter, French and German officials are discussing how to align Berlin's approach to conventional long-range weapons with France's nuclear deterrence strategy. Paris fears that a conventional missile strike against a target in Russia could trigger nuclear escalation.
The discussions come as Germany and other European countries expand their long-range missile capabilities in response to what they describe as the Russian threat.
Berlin is working to acquire and develop ground-launched missiles with ranges of between 500 kilometres and more than 2,000 kilometres, enabling strikes against targets deep inside Russian territory.
French concerns centre on how these weapons would fit into President Emmanuel Macron's vision of extending France's nuclear deterrence umbrella to cover European partners.
French officials also fear that Moscow could hold Paris responsible for conventional strikes carried out by its European allies, potentially prompting a broader Russian response. This concern is linked to Russia's revised nuclear doctrine, which allows for a nuclear response against an ally of a nuclear-armed state if a conventional attack by that ally threatens Russia's existence.
The newspaper quoted a French official as saying that France has developed its own nuclear principles and terminology, giving it an established understanding of how to communicate deterrence messages and manage escalation risks — an understanding that Germany and other non-nuclear European allies do not possess.
A senior German official acknowledged that European countries need to develop a shared understanding of how to use long-range weapons and manage the risks of nuclear escalation.
France and the United Kingdom are the only nuclear-armed powers in Europe, while Germany, Poland, the Baltic states and Scandinavian countries are strengthening their conventional long-range strike capabilities.
Source: Russia Today (RT)
