France will not respond with nuclear weapons should Russia use them against Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
“Our doctrine rests on the fundamental interests of the nation," Mr Macron told public broadcaster France 2 on Wednesday.
"They are defined clearly and wouldn’t be directly affected at all if, for example, there was a ballistic nuclear attack in Ukraine, in the region."
It was the first time Mr Macron has discussed France’s nuclear deterrence doctrine regarding Ukraine in detail, but he said it was not good to talk about it too much.
Hints by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he could order the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine have been widely condemned by western powers.
Mr Putin said after announcing the annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia would use "all the forces and resources we have" to defend what Moscow claims as its territory.
But despite his threats, the US said last week there was no clear evidence that Mr Putin was on the brink of a nuclear launch.
Mr Macron said Mr Putin must "return to the table" to discuss peace in Ukraine and that he thought Kyiv would have to negotiate with him at some point.
"Today, first of all, Vladimir Putin must stop this war, respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and come back to the table for talks," he said.
Asked if he would back a Ukrainian offensive to recapture Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move not recognised internationally, Mr Macron said that "at some point as the conflict develops", Russia and Ukraine "will have to come back to the table".
The Ukraine war latest - in pictures
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Smoke rises on the outskirts of the city during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
Workers surround the Monument to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred with sandbags against damage from shelling in Mykolaiv. EPA -
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for talks before a meeting between the Russian president and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. AFP -
People take water from a water pump in Kyiv. EPA -
A woman walks past a damaged building in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Reuters -
A woman outside her home, which was destroyed during battles at the start of the conflict, in Yahidne, Chernihiv. Getty Images -
People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
Firefighters at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP -
A woman walks past the site of a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Reuters -
Rescuer workers at a building destroyed in an attack in Mykolaiv. Reuters -
Parts of a drone lie on a street in Kyiv. Reuters -
A drone flies over the Ukrainian capital during an attack. AFP -
Ukrainian servicemen tow a captured Russian armoured vehicle in Rudneve village, Kharkiv. EPA -
A partially destroyed residential building in Saltivka, in Kharkiv. AP -
Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer on a front line near Kupyansk city, Kharkiv. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region. AFP -
An officer from a Ukrainian national police emergency demining team prepares to detonate collected anti-tank mines and explosives near Lyman, in the Donetsk region. AFP -
A boy playing on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Kyiv. AFP -
A young couple hiding underground during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia. AFP -
Ukrainian firefighters looking for survivors after a strike in Zaporizhzhia. AFP -
Workers fix a banner reading 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!' to the State Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. AFP -
Residents try to cross a destroyed bridge in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AFP -
Alyona Kishinskaya helps to clean up a shop as it prepares to reopen in Balakiya, Ukraine, after a six-month Russian occupation. Getty Images -
Alla, 12, has a swinging time in Balakiya, Ukraine, as life goes on despite the war. Getty Images -
Ukrainian flags in the town square in Balakiya. Getty Images -
A destroyed Russian command centre in Izium, Ukraine. Getty Images -
In what may be a final farewell, young Russian recruits - escorted by their wives - walk to a train station in Volgograd before being sent to war in Ukraine. AP -
Russian recruits board the train to Ukraine in Volgograd. AP -
Ukrainian soliders drive a tank at the recently retaken eastern side of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. AFP -
Volunteers pass boxes of food aid on a destroyed bridge over the Oskil River. AFP -
Ukrainian soliders rest on an armoured personnel carrier. AFP -
A sign warns of landmines in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
This crater was left after a missile strike in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AFP
"The question is whether the objectives of the war will only be reached by military means," he said, although "it's up to the Ukrainians to decide" what those aims should be.
When reminded that Ukraine no longer wanted to negotiate with Mr Putin, Mr Macron said: "I tell you that at some point … it will be necessary. That's why I have always refused maximalist positions."
He said France would supply air defence systems to Ukraine after Russia's wave of air strikes this week, which was aimed at "breaking Ukrainian resistance".
"We're going to deliver … radars, systems and missiles to protect them from these attacks," Mr Macron said.
He said France was also negotiating to send another six Caesar mobile artillery units.
Putin vows continued 'tough' attacks against Ukraine - video
He said the war had entered "an unprecedented stage" since the weekend because "for the first time all over Ukraine civilians have been killed … and electricity and heating facilities have been destroyed".
"The aim of the Russians these last few days has been to break, to shatter Ukrainian resistance," Mr Macron said.
He acknowledged that France was "unable to deliver as much as the Ukrainians ask for. I'm obliged to keep some for us to protect ourselves and our eastern flank [of Nato]".
The extra Caesar guns were made for Denmark, but talks are under way to redirect them to Ukraine.
