French President Emmanuel Macron had stern words for Joe Biden's 'political fiction' after his US counterpart warned that Putin could start 'nuclear Armageddon'.
Biden was thought to be speaking 'off the cuff' when he said that Vladimir Putin was 'not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons,' at the end of a Democratic fundraising event on Thursday night
'We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.'
The US President suggested the threat from Putin is real 'because his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming.'
US security officials scrambled to reassure allies that they have no new evidence that Putin has imminent plans for a nuclear strike, but the comments still irked some of his NATO allies.
When asked about Mr Biden's remarks, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was crucial to speak with care on the nuclear threat.
Macron said: 'We must speak with prudence when commenting on such matters.'
'I have always refused to engage in political fiction, and especially … when speaking of nuclear weapons,' Mr Macron said at a EU summit in Prague. 'On this issue, we must be very careful.'
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