Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda yesterday supported the idea expressed by his Polish colleague Andrzej Duda to deploy NATO nuclear missiles in Poland to deter Russia, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
The two presidents discussed security issues while attending NATO military exercises in the "Suwalki Corridor" - A 65-kilometer strip of land along the border between Poland and Lithuania, separating Moscow's ally Belarus from the heavily militarized Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
"The idea of deploying nuclear weapons does not incite war, nor is it a threat to Russia, it is a means of deterrence,", the Lithuanian head of state told the media.
His Polish counterpart, the conservative Duda, this week proposed deploying NATO nuclear weapons on his country's territory to counter missiles deployed by Russia in Kaliningrad and Belarus - an idea that was not supported by Poland's liberal government, but angered Moscow.
Yesterday, Duda defended his proposal again.
"In our opinion, the entire territory of NATO should be adequately protected, so it is quite logical that nuclear assets should be transferred to the eastern flank of the Alliance,", he said.
"As one of these countries, we have declared our readiness to accept these weapons," he added.
Duda and Nauseda made the remarks during exercises involving 1,500 NATO troops to practice various defense scenarios in the Suwalki corridor, considered a weak point for the Alliance in the area.