Will statement

Tusk: Nuclear weapons in Poland are a “very massive idea”

US nuclear weapon

(Bild: APA/AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

According to Polish President Andrzej Duda, his country is ready for the deployment of US nuclear weapons if NATO deems it necessary. Poland's head of government Donald Tusk has now spoken out, but he is not quite so convinced by the idea. It is "very massive and very serious."

"I should know all the circumstances that prompted the president to make this statement," said Tusk on Monday in Warsaw. He therefore wanted to meet with Duda in order to understand his intentions. Any initiatives should be very well prepared, and those responsible must be convinced that they really want the deployment of US nuclear weapons.

Duda hadreportedly said that Poland was ready for the deployment of US nuclear weapons should NATO deem it necessary. "If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons on our territory as part of nuclear sharing in order to strengthen the security of NATO's eastern flank, we are ready to do so." In Poland, the president is commander-in-chief of the army.

Military ally of Ukraine
Poland, an EU and NATO member state, is one of Ukraine's closest military allies. It also borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia's ally Belarus. The USA has stationed nuclear weapons in several European countries for many decades. These are said to include Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey.