French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday that France will not give up its nuclear weapons because doing so would put jeopardize the country's "security and safety."

"A virtual world where there would be no nuclear weapons... every one would applaud that, but I cannot jeopardize the security and safety of my country," Sarkozy said in an interview with CBS News on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in the U.S. capital.

The transcript of the interview was made available on the broadcaster's website.

"I have inherited the legacy of the efforts made by my predecessors to build up arms as a nuclear power," he said. "And I could not give up nuclear weapons, insofar as I wasn't sure that the world is a stable and safe place."

"It's a dream, an awesome dream that can turn into reality," he said.

"But I will not give up that nuclear weapon because it underpins my country's security. I will not do so on a unilateral basis, in a world as dangerous as the one in which we live in today," Sarkozy said.