By Mark Trevelyan
April 23 (Reuters) - Russia warned on Thursday that any European countries that accepted deployments of French nuclear-capable strategic bombers would make themselves targets for attack by Moscow's forces in the event of a conflict.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans in March to expand the country's nuclear arsenal and said France may allow European partners to host its nuclear-capable aircraft on temporary deployments.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview published on Thursday that this was part of an "uncontrolled build-up" of NATO's nuclear potential, which posed a strategic threat to Russia.
He stressed Moscow's concern about the potential French nuclear deployments to other European countries. Macron has said Paris is discussing such arrangements with Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark.
"Clearly, 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 media group Russia Today.
"As a result, instead of the declared French strengthening of the defence of their allies - to whom, incidentally, they offer no ironclad guarantees - the security of these countries is in fact being weakened."
Macron's initiative is part of a drive by NATO's European members to take more responsibility for their own defence, after frequent criticism of the alliance from U.S. President Donald Trump, and in light of his threats to take control of Greenland from NATO member Denmark.
The expiry in February of the last remaining treaty limiting the size of the Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear arsenals has created a vacuum in global arms control, at a time when international tensions are at their highest for decades because of the Ukraine and Iran wars.
Grushko said any future dialogue on nuclear weapons would need to take into account the combined capabilities of NATO, including the French and British arsenals as well as that of the U.S.
NATO this week criticised Russia and China over their nuclear arms policies and urged both countries to work with the U.S. to establish greater stability and transparency at a conference opening at the U.N. in New York next week to review the operation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan in London)
