Russia has warned that any European country that accepts the deployment of French strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons will become a potential target for Moscow's forces in the event of a conflict, Reuters reports.
The warning comes after French President Emmanuel Macron announced in March to expand France's nuclear arsenal and said Paris could temporarily station nuclear-capable aircraft on the territory of European partners.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said it was part of an "uncontrolled buildup" NATO's nuclear potential, which Moscow says poses a strategic threat.
Macron said France was discussing similar arrangements with Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.
"It is obvious that our military will be forced to pay close attention to this issue in the context of updating the list of priority targets in the event of a major conflict," Grushko told the state-run Russia Today media group.
"As a result, instead of France's declared strengthening of the defense of its allies - to whom, by the way, they do not offer any ironclad guarantees - the security of these countries is actually being weakened."
Macron's initiative is part of a broader push for European NATO members to take greater responsibility for their own security amid criticism of the alliance by US President Donald Trump and his threats to take control of Greenland, autonomous territory of Denmark.
Meanwhile, the expiration in February of the last remaining treaty limiting the strategic nuclear arsenals of Russia and the United States deepened the vacuum in global arms control at a time of high international tension over the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
Grushko added that future nuclear weapons negotiations must take into account the combined potential of NATO, including the arsenals of France, Britain and the United States.