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Macron Says Ready to Discuss Nuclear Deterrence for Europe

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the Franco-Portuguese Business Forum in Porto, on the second day of a state visit to Portugal, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the Franco-Portuguese Business Forum in Porto, on the second day of a state visit to Portugal, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)
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Macron Says Ready to Discuss Nuclear Deterrence for Europe

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the Franco-Portuguese Business Forum in Porto, on the second day of a state visit to Portugal, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the closing session of the Franco-Portuguese Business Forum in Porto, on the second day of a state visit to Portugal, on February 28, 2025. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to start discussions on nuclear deterrence for Europe, hinting France could help to protect other EU countries, given the security threats posed by Russia.
European leaders will meet in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine and they will attend a European Union summit on Thursday.
The bloc is grappling with US President Donald Trump's willingness to embrace Russian diplomacy and the implications of an extraordinary clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Trump at the White House on Friday.
Macron told Portuguese TV RTP in an interview he posted on X on Saturday that if Europe wanted to move towards "greater autonomy" in matters of defence and nuclear deterrence, then its leaders should start a discussion about it.
"I am available to open this discussion...if it allows to build a European force," he said. "There has always been a European dimension to France's vital interests within its nuclear doctrine."
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was swift to react to Macron's comments.
"The French nuclear deterrent must remain a French nuclear deterrent," she said as she visited the Farm Show in Paris on Saturday. "It must not be shared, let alone delegated."
According to Reuters, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu reiterated Macron's stance that France's vital interests include a “European dimension”, but also that it was under the exclusive control of the French head of state.
"Our nuclear deterrent is French, and it will remain so: from the design and production of our weapons, to their implementation by decision of the President of the Republic," he said on X.
"It protects the vital interests of France, which the head of state alone can define."

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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.

World

Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."

World

US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.