Poland Expresses Desire to Have Its Own Nuclear Arsenal
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that France's proposal for a nuclear deterrent is being considered, but Warsaw would be safer if it had ‘its own nuclear arsenal’. This was reported by RMF FM.
During a meeting with journalists on Friday, Donald Tusk commented on the French initiative to protect Europe with the help of France's ‘nuclear umbrella’. According to him, Paris' proposal is currently being carefully analysed.
Tusk noted that although Emmanuel Macron's idea to extend the French nuclear deterrent to European countries is being considered seriously, it raises certain questions. The main problem, in his opinion, is who will control such weapons.
‘If we decide on it (the French nuclear sharing programme), we should be sure that it will be in our hands,’ he said.
According to Tusk, the financial aspect of this initiative is also important. He cited the example of France, where about 14 billion euros are spent annually on maintenance of the nuclear arsenal alone.
In addition, the Prime Minister said that the Polish government is in contact with the Ukrainian side and is discussing which weapons are the most effective in the current situation and which technologies are worth investing in.
‘We see what has happened to Ukraine now. It was attacked because it got rid of its nuclear weapons... Today we would be safer if we had our own nuclear arsenal. There is no doubt about it,’ Tusk said.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the path to such a decision is ‘very long’ and must be taken ‘by consensus’.
‘We will use our technological, scientific capabilities to do this in cooperation with others to start thinking in a very modern way. No option is closed,’ he concluded.
As The Gaze previously reported, on 5 March, French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation amid global uncertainty over the radical change in US policy towards Ukraine. He stressed that the threat from Russia extends to the whole of Europe and ‘this is not just a Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it is an international conflict’.
The French president also wants to start a debate on expanding France's nuclear deterrent to protect its allies on the European continent.