According to President Andrzej Duda, Poland is prepared to host nuclear weapons should NATO choose to use them in response to Russia’s rearmament of Belarus and Kaliningrad. This was stated in an interview that was released on Monday.
Poland, a NATO member and ardent ally of Ukraine, borders Belarus, an ally of Moscow, as well as the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
We are prepared to do so if our partners choose to place nuclear weapons on our soil as part of nuclear sharing, to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank,” Duda stated in an interview that was released by the Fakt daily.
In retaliation, Moscow threatened to “ensure its security” by taking action if Warsaw obtained the weaponry.
Following his visit to New York, where he met with former US President Donald Trump at the U.N. and discussed the situation in Ukraine, Duda gave an interview to the Polish media.
He went to Washington in March and had a meeting with President Biden there.
Poland and the United States have been having talks regarding nuclear cooperation “for some time,” he said.
“I’ve already discussed this topic multiple times. Admittedly, I stated we were prepared when questioned about it,” Duda remarked.
“Kaliningrad is becoming more militarized by Russia. It has started moving its nuclear weapons to Belarus lately,” he continued.
If Poland were to host nuclear weapons, the Kremlin threatened to retaliate.
Assuring our security will always need the military to analyze the situation and take all appropriate action, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, said in June 2023 that Belarus, which borders Poland and Ukraine, has received tactical nuclear weapons from Russia.
The allies promised at the most recent NATO summit in Vilnius to “take all necessary steps to ensure the credibility, effectiveness, safety and security of the nuclear deterrent mission.”