Cooperation in so-called forward deterrence includes Poland as well as Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
Poland, which doesn’t take part in the U.S. nuclear-sharing program, is interested in firming up European deterrence against Russia.
“We’ve decided to join a group of countries invited by France to cooperate,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “An exclusive group made up of countries who understand the need for European sovereignty. We live in a world in which we need nuclear dissuasion capacities.”
France is adamant that final control on the use of its nuclear weapons must rest with Paris, but there is some talk of eventually basing French nuclear-armed warplanes in allied countries.
“In all frankness, having Rafales with atomic bombs above Poland is not my dream, but I hope you do not have such plans,” Tusk told Macron.
Macron said his team would be discussing options with their Polish counterparts to get operations set up “in the coming months.”
