French officials have expressed concern over Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning of an inevitable escalation if long-range weapons strikes are launched against Russian territory. Paris takes the threat of a wider conflict seriously and is seeking to prevent a third world war, Le Monde reported, citing a diplomatic source.

"We must do everything possible to avoid a third world war. It cannot be ruled out that the Russians could expand the scale of military operations," — the publication quotes one of the French diplomats as saying.

At the same time, the official French authorities, despite growing international discussions about possible strikes on Russian territory, are still maintaining a reserved position and refraining from public comments on this topic.