President Duda: I will meet with Tusk to discuss NATO nuclear sharing prospect

During his visit to Canada, President Duda was asked by reporters in Edmonton if he was going to meet with PM Tusk back in Poland to discuss Poland's readiness to particiapte in the nuclear sharing program. He replied: "Of course I will meet with the prime minister."

"Because to me, it's obvious and clear that we cooperate with each other in matters related with foreign policy, and in any other matter that requires it. So far, this cooperation, as you have seen, has been going on well and with benefit for Poland," the president added.

"As a certain idea and a certain method to build a sphere of security, nuclear sharing is carried out mainly by the United States within the North-Atlantic Alliance," Duda noted. He added that some European states have already participated in nuclear sharing and had nuclear weapons deployed on their territories.

"That happened primarily in the Cold War era, when Soviet imperialism was a real threat. Today, Russian imperialism is coming back, maybe not as Soviet imperialism anymore, but simply as the Russian imperialism that we know so well from history and that which takes many different forms. In the past it was Tsarist imperialism, later Soviet imperialism, and now it's simply Russian imperialism, which we sometimes call Putinist," the Polish president said.

Duda also argued that participation in nuclear sharing would strengthen Poland's position and security. He stressed, however, that "no decisions in that regard have been made".

President Duda told Polish "Fakt" tabloid that "if there is a decision by our allies to deploy nuclear weapons on our territory as part of nuclear sharing, then we are ready for it".

At a press conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on Duda's words. "The president's declaration regarding potential presence of nuclear weapons in Poland is important to me. I'm eagerly waiting to meet with President Andrzej Duda, as this is an issue clearly and directly related with Poland's security," he said.

Tusk added he wanted "to properly understand president's intentions". "I deeply care for Poland's security, so that it is feasibly well armed. But I would also like potential initiatives to be above all well prepared by people responsible for it and for us to be certain we all want it," he stressed.

He also noted that "this idea is very massive and very serious". "I'd to have learn about all circumstances that led the president to make such a declaration."

The Kremlin said on Monday that the Russian military will analyse any move by Poland to host U.S. nuclear weapons.