Poland, Baltic Nations Welcome France’s Offer of Nuclear Umbrella

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said ‘a nuclear umbrella would serve as really very serious deterrence towards Russia.’

A Rafale jet fighter on France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, at Limassol port in Cyprus on March 1, 2022. Petros Karadjias/AP Photo

Poland and the three Baltic nations have welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to discuss the possibility of France’s nuclear deterrent being used to protect European Union countries from the threat of Russia.

On March 5, Macron said France was open to the idea of extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, a move that Russia said is extremely confrontational.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had a public disagreement with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, joined EU leaders in Brussels on March 6 for an emergency summit on defense and security.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, said: “We must seriously consider this proposal. As always, the details matter, but France’s willingness in this regard is very significant.”

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said it was a “very interesting idea.”

“We have high expectations because a nuclear umbrella would serve as really very serious deterrence towards Russia,” he said.

‘Opportunity to Discuss’

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said Macron’s suggestion was “an opportunity to discuss” but said there needed to be substantial domestic and international debate about its practicality.

The three Baltic republics were part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal has not commented on the French offer. In January, he said his country would increase NATO defense spending.

Last month, Friedrich Merz, whose conservative CDU/CSU bloc won the German elections, called for a discussion on “nuclear sharing” with France.

Merz is the most likely party leader to form a coalition and become Germany’s next chancellor.

Germany, which is also a member of NATO, is one of a handful of European countries that host U.S. nuclear weapons.

On March 6, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Macron’s speech was “extremely confrontational.”

He said, “One can conclude that France thinks more about war, about continuing the war.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking during a press conference in Moscow, said Macron’s comments were a threat to Russia.

Macron, in his televised address to the nation on March 5, said Russia has become and will continue to be a threat to France and Europe.

“It is with deep regret that I make such an observation,” Macron said. “I am convinced that in the long term, peace will return to Europe, with Russia once again peaceful. But the current situation is what it is and we have to deal with it as it is.”

France is the only nuclear power in the EU.

The Federation of American Scientists says France maintains the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal, with 290 nuclear warheads.

Eighty percent of its warheads are deployed in Triomphant-class submarines, which patrol the world’s oceans.

It also possesses Rafale fighter jets, which can be fitted with nuclear weapons.

A Rafale jet fighter of the French Air Force patrols the airspace over Poland on March 4, 2022. Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

Britain is the only other European country that possesses nuclear weapons, but it left the EU in 2021. It remains a key member of NATO.

Tom Wells, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said, “In terms of extending our nuclear deterrent or using it to protect other European nations, we already do. The UK already commits its nuclear forces to NATO, helping to safeguard European Euro-Atlantic security.”

Macron has stressed that a final decision on using France’s nuclear weapons would remain in the hands of the French president.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.