Polish President Andrzej Duda claimed that he reached out to the U.S. government and requested that it share its nuclear weapons with the East-European nation, which shares a border with the Russian Federation.
“We have spoken with American leaders about whether the United States is considering such a possibility. The issue is open,” Duda told Gazeta Polska, a Polish magazine.
For its part, the White House denied knowledge of any such request, according to The Guardian.
“We’re not aware of this issue being raised and would refer you to the government of Poland,” stated a U.S. official.
Any such move could potentially anger Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of a renewed offensive by Ukrainian military forces into the southeastern territories, as reported in The Dallas Express.
The areas in question were recently annexed by Russia through a referendum vote by the residents, which was denounced by many international politicians aligned with Ukraine as being invalid.
If the United States provided Poland with nuclear weapons or allowed the country to host them, such an action could be interpreted as a violation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act and the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Tensions between Russia and Poland have increased since the invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Back in April, Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, claimed Poland’s government “has recently caused deep concern: The line is extremely militant, anti-Russian, and the proposed actions, of course, can only lead to a further increase in tension on the continent,” per Bloomberg.
Since the Russo-Ukrainian War began, Poland has moved to strengthen its military capabilities, hiking up defense spending to 3% of its GDP, making it one of the highest defense spenders in NATO.
Over the summer, Poland’s defense minister, Mariusz Błaszczak, declared his country would have “the most powerful land forces in Europe.”