Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw is ready to deploy on its territory nuclear weapons of the US, Fakt reports.
In an interview with the Polish publication, the president said that this issue is the topic of negotiations between Washington and Warsaw. He stated:
“If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons under Nuclear Sharing also on our territory to strengthen the security of NATO’s eastern flank, we are ready for it. I have said this several times. I must confess that when I was asked about it, I declared our readiness.”
Duda has previously said it would be appropriate for Poland to seek the deployment of US nuclear weapons on its territory as part of NATO’s Nuclear Sharing programme. However, he also acknowledged that there is now “no indication that in the near future” Poland will get nuclear weapons. The Polish leader pointed out that “the topic is open,” the country’s leadership has not yet moved on the issue.
Nuclear Sharing is a joint programme of the US and a number of countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, which allows the transfer of nuclear weapons from American storage bases to the territory of alliance members in case of need. At the same time, the deployment must be approved not only by the US president, but also by the British Prime Minister and the NATO Nuclear Planning Group.
Duda met with US presidential candidate Donald Trump last week and discussed the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East during their two-and-a-half hour meeting at Trump Tower on Wednesday night in New York. Speaking to journalists, the Polish President described the meeting as “friendly” and held in a “pleasant atmosphere”.
