French President: Will not give up nuclear weapons
France will not give up its nuclear weapons, because doing so would “jeopardize” its security, President Nicolas Sarkozy has said as global leaders gathered for a summit on nuclear security.”I cannot jeopardize the security and safety of my country,” Sarkozy told CBS News hours before US President Barack Obama opened the landmark summit of 47 nations in Washington.
The French leader said on Monday he could not abandon his nation’s nuclear weapons program “on a unilateral basis, in a world as dangerous as the one in which we live today.”
He also hinted that countries like the United States and Russia should take the lead in whittling down their own huge nuclear stockpiles, rather than expecting France, which has a much smaller number of atomic weapons, to disarm.
“You have to realize, we’re a country of 65 million inhabitants,” he said.
“We have fewer conventional weapons than the US, than Russia, than China, for that matter.
“I have inherited the legacy of the efforts made by my predecessors to build up France as a nuclear power. And I could not give up nuclear weapons if I wasn’t sure the world was a stable and safe place.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment