POLAND and the Baltic nations welcomed a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron today to discuss using France’s nuclear weapons as a way to “protect” the continent from Russian threats, a move Moscow quickly dismissed as “extremely confrontational.”

The comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined European Union leaders in Brussels for an emergency summit on defence and security.

On Wednesday, Mr Macron said he has decided to open a “strategic debate” on using France’s nuclear arsenal to protect European allies amid concerns over potential US disengagement.