ALBAWABA - In an interview released on Monday, Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that his country is now prepared to host nuclear weapons if NATO decides to deploy them in response to Russia's reinforcement of its weaponry in Belarus and Kaliningrad.
"Recently, it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus. If our allies decide to deploy nuclear weapons as part of nuclear sharing, also on our territory, to strengthen the security of NATO's eastern flank, we are ready for it". Duda said in an interview published by the Fakt daily
"We are an ally in the North Atlantic Alliance and we also have obligations in this respect, which means we simply implement a common policy," Duda added.
Duda talked to the Polish media following a visit to New York, where he attended UN meetings and addressed the Ukraine conflict with former US President Donald Trump. In March, he traveled to Washington, DC, where he met with US President Joe Biden.
In June 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has transferred tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which borders Ukraine and Poland.
During the last NATO summit in Vilnius, the allies pledged to "take all necessary steps to ensure the credibility, effectiveness, safety and security of the nuclear deterrent mission."
"I have already talked about this several times. I must admit that when asked about it, I declared our readiness," Duda said. "Russia is increasingly militarising Kaliningrad. Recently it has been relocating its nuclear weapons to Belarus," he added.
In response, the Kremlin warned on Monday that it would take "necessary" measures to "ensure its security" if Poland hosted nuclear weapons after Warsaw stated that it was prepared to do so if NATO decided to deploy the arms.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Russian military "will, of course, analyze the situation and in any case will take all necessary response steps in order to ensure our security".
