The United States and NATO continually assess the threat to Europe’s security, but currently there are no new plans concerning the nuclear sharing program, said U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski. In practice, this means it is unlikely Poland will host U.S. nuclear weapons on its territory anytime soon.
“At this time, we do not have plans to expand the nuclear sharing program beyond the NATO countries that participate in it. We do not comment on whether or not American nuclear weapons are located in a particular country,” the ambassador told Rzeczpospolita paper.
The program is a political concept of NATO, which involves sharing nuclear warheads with NATO member states that do not possess nuclear weapons. Since 2009, countries such as Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey have participated in the program.
At the end of June, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stated that Poland is asking NATO allies for the possibility of the country joining the nuclear sharing program. Poland’s accession to the program would be a response to the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Brzezinski was also asked about disputes between Warsaw and Berlin.
“We don’t want any divisions within NATO, especially in the face of a Russian attack on Ukraine. Only one person benefits from disputes between Poland and Germany: Putin,” said the U.S. ambassador in Warsaw. “It does not serve the unity of the West.”
“I was very pleased when, together with Ambassador Thomas Bagger, we took part in Polish-American-German military exercises near Suwałki in April. Today, as we face the greatest threat in Europe since World War II, we must be more united than ever,” said the U.S. diplomat.
“The threat on the eastern flank of NATO is not just a problem for Poland or America, but for all of NATO. Germany’s involvement is therefore important,” he said.
Brzezinski added that the most important task for the U.S. is to further strengthen its military presence in Poland.
