President Trump opposes nuclear proliferation in Eastern Europe

According to RIA Novosti on March 14, in an interview with Fox News, commenting on President Andrzej Duda's call to deploy nuclear weapons in Poland, US Vice President JD Vance said that President Donald Trump opposes the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe.

"I haven't spoken to the president specifically about this, but I would be shocked if he supported further proliferation of nuclear weapons into Eastern Europe. We have to be careful, we are playing with the lives of future generations," said Vice President Vance.

Earlier, Polish President Andrzej Duda called on Washington to move nuclear weapons from US or Western European territory to Polish territory. Mr. Duda added that he had discussed the issue with Keith Kellogg - the US President's Ukraine adviser.

“NATO's borders moved east in 1999. So 26 years later, NATO's infrastructure must also move east,” the Polish leader said. Mr. Duda also noted that it would take decades for Poland to create its own nuclear forces.

Earlier, on March 5, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia was considered to have become a threat to France and Europe, and called for discussion on the use of French nuclear weapons to protect the entire EU, while noting that the US had changed its stance on Ukraine and on its leadership role in NATO.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Europe should enter an arms race with Russia.

On March 13, US Senator Lindsey Graham proposed that Europe create its own nuclear deterrent force against Russia by modernizing the arsenals of Britain and France and deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the continent.

“The question for Europe: Why not create its own nuclear deterrent by upgrading the British and French nuclear arsenals and strategically placing tactical nuclear weapons across Europe?” – Senator Graham wrote on social network X.

Such moves would be consistent with the policy of former US President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, who introduced nuclear-tipped land-based cruise missiles as a means of defending Europe, Graham said.

The US senator's proposal comes after a call by the Polish president for Washington to move nuclear weapons from US or Western European territory to Polish territory.