Do you realize that if Ukraine joins NATO and decides to take Crimea back through military means, the European countries will automatically get drawn into a military conflict with Russia? Of course, NATO's united potential and that of Russia are incomparable. We understand that, but we also understand that Russia is one of the world's leading nuclear powers, and is superior to many of those countries in terms of the number of modern nuclear force components.

Press conference with President of France Macron on February 8, 2022