German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday he viewed with “respect” Lithuania’s proposal to lift its ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory.
“First and foremost, this is a political decision for Lithuania. However, it also demonstrates how seriously the threat from Russia is taken in that country and how the country is prepared to defend itself in this regard as well,” Merz said after meeting the leaders of the Baltic states in Berlin.
“In that respect, I must not only refrain from criticizing this, but also take note with respect of the fact that Lithuania is prepared, in this regard too, to defend the country and thus also NATO territory,” Merz said.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda this week proposed a constitutional amendment to lift the ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons on Lithuanian soil.
Speaking in Berlin, Nausėda said the move was about Lithuania’s “aim to make use of all possibilities for nuclear deterrence,” adding that the country wants to be “an integral part of this nuclear deterrent.”
Lithuania, which borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow’s ally Belarus, regards itself as particularly threatened by Russia. There are, however, no concrete plans yet for nuclear weapons to be stationed in Lithuania.
According to unofficial reports, US nuclear weapons are currently stationed in five NATO member states as part of the alliance’s nuclear deterrent: Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. In addition, the United Kingdom and France possess their own nuclear weapons. Unlike Lithuania, none of these seven countries borders Russia.
Poland, which shares a border with Russia’s Kaliningrad, has also signalled an interest in participating in NATO’s nuclear deterrent and is in talks with the United States on the subject.