Polish president’s office criticises government for rejecting hosting of allied nuclear weapons

Poland’s government and President Karol Nawrocki’s office have disagreed on whether the nation should host allied nuclear weapons within its borders. Deputy Defence Minister Paweł Zalewski announced that Poland is seeking to participate in the US-led NATO nuclear sharing programme without actually hosting nuclear warheads. However, this has sparked criticism from Nawrocki’s senior foreign policy aide, Marcin Przydacz, who believes Poland should host such weapons.

NATO’s deputy defence minister, Elbridge Colby, confirmed to reporters that Poland does not want nuclear warheads on its territory. Instead, Poland still wishes to be part of NATO’s nuclear deterrence programme, but through a different approach that does not involve hosting the weapons. This stance has drawn criticism from the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, with former PiS defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak stating that refusing to host warheads "in practice means renouncing participation in nuclear sharing." Błaszczak emphasized that Poland should strive for full participation in nuclear sharing.

Other critics, including retired Brigadier General Stanisław Koziej, have called Zalewski’s announcement a "strategic mistake" in the field of deterrence. They argue that to deter Russia, Vladimir Putin must know that Poland could host nuclear weapons at some point. Zalewski responded by stating that Poland wants to participate in NATO’s nuclear deterrence programme "without wanting the stationing of nuclear weapons in Poland," emphasizing that "intentions do not deter, real capabilities do."

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz reiterated Poland’s interest in participating in the NATO nuclear sharing programme and is conducting talks regarding a proposal for participation in a European nuclear protective umbrella. However, Kosiniak-Kamysz did not address the specific issue of Poland potentially hosting nuclear warheads. President Nawrocki, who is aligned with the right-wing opposition, has clashed with the government on this issue, vetoing a record nuclear agreement earlier this year.