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Poland no closer to hosting nuclear weapons — president

"We don't have nuclear weapons. And I don't know if we ever will. No indications of this for now," Polish Head of State Andrzej Duda declared
Polish President Andrzej Duda AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
Polish President Andrzej Duda
© AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

MOSCOW, September 14. /TASS/. /TASS/. The Polish authorities have not yet made any progress in their wish to have nuclear weapons deployed in the country, as follows from what Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a forum in the city of Krynica-Zdroj.

According to the Polish head of state, the worst threat to his country is posed by a neighbor that has nuclear weapons.

"We don't have nuclear weapons. And I don't know if we ever will. No indications of this for now," he said, emphasizing that in such a situation NATO was the only guarantee.

Earlier, the Polish authorities said that they intended to eventually persuade NATO partners to deploy nuclear weapons in their country as part of the alliance's Nuclear Sharing concept. John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, declined to specify whether the United States was discussing with Poland the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons on its territory. At the same time, Kirby said that the US did not see any signs Russia might decide to use nuclear weapons in connection with the Ukrainian crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on March 25 that Moscow would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus at Minsk's request, similarly to what the United States had long done on the territory of its allies. Moscow shared with Minsk the nuclear-capable Iskander missile system and assisted in re-equipping Belarusian aircraft to enable them to carry special munitions. Belarusian missile force personnel and air pilots have undergone appropriate training in Russia. On June 16, Putin said that the first portion of Russian nuclear warheads had been delivered to Belarus. The whole batch will be in place by the end of the year. On June 23, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that a significant share of warheads earmarked for delivery had already arrived in Belarus.

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