German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out the possibility of the country developing its own nuclear weapons. He said this in an interview with the Machtwechsel podcast.
“For me, this choice is not worth it. I don't want Germany to think about its own nuclear weapons,” Merz said. He reiterated that Germany is bound by international obligations, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the “Two Plus Four” agreement. According to him, Berlin cannot unilaterally withdraw from the latest agreement, and withdrawing from the first agreement is only theoretically possible and will take time.
At the same time, the Prime Minister allowed discussions with Paris and London on creating a European nuclear shield within NATO. According to him, Germany could supply fighter jets equipped with nuclear missiles from France or Britain. Merz recalled that France had twice proposed extending the nuclear shield to Germany, but previous prime ministers had rejected the proposal.
“(Former German Chancellor Konrad) Adenauer rejected this proposal. (French President Emmanuel) Macron, for his part, proposed this twice. Neither of my predecessors accepted the offer. In the context of their times, this decision was understandable. But times have changed. At least I want to discuss the French proposal,” the politician concluded.
On February 15, Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced the need for its own nuclear weapons. He also mentioned the threat of armed conflict with Russia. Nawrocki's ideas were supported even by his opponents in the government, including opposition parties. In particular, Defense Minister Vladislav Kosiniak-Kamysh stated that he supported the idea of developing his own weapons of mass destruction.
