Expert commented on Duda’s statement about Polish intentions to deploy NATO nuclear weapons on its territory

In his talk with Alfa Radio, political scientist Vadim Borovik commented on the news that Polish President Andrzej Duda announced his country’s readiness to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory as part of NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangements, underlining that Warsaw and Washington have been discussing this topic ‘for some time’

According to the expert, under the NATO sharing arrangement, warheads, dual-capable fighters, bombers or nuclear weapons can be placed on the territory of the alliance’s members. As Vadim Borovik noted, Poland decided to agree to the deployment of this type of weapons, because it sees a clear threat from Russia.

“Moscow is allegedly the aggressor for them, and Poland should support this reputation of Russia. That’s why Warsaw shows it is determined to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory if necessary. Poland is now militarising, asking the United States to supply 500 HIMARS rocket launchers, despite the fact that the Americans themselves have only 400 of them. I wonder how the exchange would happen? The US industry is unable to provide its allies, so Poland turned to South Korea with a request to sell analogues,” the expert explained.

The political scientist said Poland’s actions can be regarded from the point of view of its fear of an escalation of the Ukrainian conflict. Therefore, the Polish authorities are considering all options in order to be able to deliver an asymmetric response to the actions of the alleged aggressor. Thus, Vadim Borovik noted, Warsaw wants Russia, e.g., to refrain from any action against Poland.

“At the same time, I would like to note that Warsaw does not act on its own, being guided by Washington,” he added. “Therefore, the US could ask its partners to take the initiative to deploy nuclear weapons at the right time, i.e., it is advantageous for Washington to deploy appropriate weapons in Europe from the point of view of strategic planning. There’s an agreement between Russia and NATO signed in 1997, which states that new countries that have joined the alliance after May 1997 cannot deploy nuclear weapons on their territory. However, everything can be interpreted in different ways, e.g., proceeding from the fact that Russia allegedly violated some agreements and obligations from NATO's point of view. It is also possible to proceed from some changes in the global geopolitical situation. Moreover, the requests from the allies in Eastern Europe for help can also be taken into account.”

The expert noted that the danger of Poland’s initiative is that Polish territories become a legitimate target from Russia’s point of view. Moreover, all this is happening near Belarus’ border. According to Vadim Borovik, there is nothing good in this. The most alarming is that the US manages to maintain a nerve of tension in this regard and destabilise the region.