ISTANBUL 

The Polish president has urged the US to deploy nuclear weapons in Poland to deter Russia.

“The borders of Nato moved east in 1999, so 26 years later there should also be a shift of the Nato infrastructure east. For me this is obvious. I think it’s not only that the time has come, but that it would be safer if those weapons were already here,” Andrzej Duda said in an interview with Financial Times published on Thursday.

Duda said it was up to President Donald Trump to decide where to deploy US nuclear weapons, but recalled Russia did not ask any permission when it relocated its nuclear weapons in Belarus.

He said French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea to extend French “nuclear umbrella” to European countries could also be an alternative for protection.

“In order to have our own nuclear capability, I think it would take decades,” he said.

He said Trump will keep maintaining US troops in Poland. “Concerns regarding the US taking back their military presence from Poland are not justified. We are a credible ally for the US and they also have their own strategic interests here," Duda said.

Regarding Trump's initiative to end the Ukraine war, he said: “This is not delicate diplomacy, this is a tough game, but in my opinion it’s not that President Trump is being only nice and gentle with Russia. I think he’s applying instruments against Russia, even though it’s maybe not as loud and visible as those he’s using against Ukraine."

He suggested giving Trump a chance as nobody had “managed” to stop the war yet.

Duda also criticized Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski for publicly clashing with US officials and Elon Musk over Starlink access for Ukraine, calling the dispute "completely unnecessary.”

“You don’t discuss with the American administration on Twitter, you do that through diplomatic channels,” he added