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Topics: Ukraine, World News
Jess Hardiman
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister has said he would be ‘open’ to having nuclear weapons in his country.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland’s ruling party, has said his country would welcome a 50 percent increase in the number of US troops in Europe, as Warsaw calls for tougher action against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Kaczynski also said Poland would be ‘open’ to having nuclear weapons stationed in the country. However, he added that this was not something currently under consideration.
In the interview, which was also published on the website of Poland’s ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), Kaczynski said – roughly translated to English: “If the Americans asked us to store American nuclear weapons in Poland, we would be open to it.
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“This would significantly strengthen Moscow's deterrence. At the moment, this issue does not arise, but it may change soon.”
According to Reuters, there were roughly 80,000 US troops in Europe before Russian troops moved into Ukraine, but NATO has since responded by increasing its presence in the area – last month announcing four further multi-national battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
Kaczynski said: "Poland would be pleased if the Americans increased their presence in Europe from the current 100,000 soldiers up to 150,000 in the future due to Russia's increasing aggressiveness.”
He added: "Of these, 75,000 soldiers should be stationed on the eastern flank; ie, on the border with Russia; 50,000 soldiers in the Baltic states and Poland.”
When asked about NATO’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, Kaczynski said he believes the alliance ‘should do more’.
Last month, the Polish government called on allies of NATO to give over their planes to the US in support of Ukraine, after pledging to hand over all of its country's MiG-29 jets.
The government said the plan was made off the back of conversations with the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and the rest of the country's government, explaining that all its MiG-29 jets would be deployed to the Ramstein Air Base, a site owned by the US, located in Rhineland-Palatinate in southwestern Germany.
A statement released on the website for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland said: "The authorities of the Republic of Poland, after consultations between the President and the Government, are ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all their MIG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America."
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