|
France to cut nuclear arsenal
22/03/2008 16:36 - (SA)
Angela Doland
Cherbourg - President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a modest cut on Friday in France's nuclear arsenal, to less than 300 warheads, and urged China and the United States to commit to no more weapons tests.
In his first major speech as president on France's much-vaunted nuclear "strike force", Sarkozy said atomic weapons remained a vital component of French defences.
"It is the nation's life insurance policy," he said.
He noted that while France did not face a foreseeable threat of invasion, other dangers exist. He singled out Iran's development of its missile forces and the "grave suspicions" surrounding its nuclear programme - which France and other western powers fear is aimed at developing weapons.
"The security of Europe is at stake," Sarkozy said.
Many of France's nuclear weapons are carried aboard submarines, with the rest on warplanes.
Sarkozy followed his announcement of weapons cuts with appeals for other nations to scale back their nuclear facilities.
He appealed to China and the United States to ratify a nuclear test ban treaty they signed in 1996.
"It's time to ratify," he said.
|
News
