President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion to extend France’s nuclear deterrent to cover Europe is an “interesting idea”, says Lithuanian leader Gitanas Nausėda, adding that it would be a serious deterrent to Russia.
“I think it is a very interesting idea and we are looking at this proposal with high expectations because the nuclear umbrella would be a serious deterrent to Russia and it is very important to use this opportunity to increase our resilience, especially on the eastern flank, because the eastern flank is open to various threats,” Nausėda told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.
“We are facing hybrid attacks, we are facing sabotage of critical infrastructure, illegal migration and other threats,” the president continued.
In a televised address on Wednesday, French President Macron described Russia as a “threat to France and Europe” and said he had decided “to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our [nuclear] deterrent”.
Nausėda stressed that the proposal is still at a very early stage and judging it is premature.
“This is just an idea for now. It is attractive, it is very interesting for us, no doubt, because we do have such expectations, but as long as it is just an idea, it is difficult to talk about it in a comprehensive way,” the president told LRT in Brussels.
“A comprehensive air defence system in Europe would be one of the priorities and I hope that the document (White Paper on European Defence) that will come out a little later in March will include this among other elements,” he said.
Nausėda, who is in Brussels, is attending an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on Thursday, where EU leaders are discussing defence and support for Ukraine.
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