Lithuania trusts the US nuclear umbrella and is awaiting more detailed information from France about possible changes to its nuclear doctrine, a senior presidential adviser said Tuesday.
Asta Skaisgirytė, senior foreign policy adviser to President Gitanas Nausėda, said Lithuania continues to rely on the United States’ nuclear arsenal as the cornerstone of NATO’s deterrence.
“Where we look is to the United States nuclear arsenal, because the United States’ nuclear arsenal is also NATO’s nuclear arsenal. This is the NATO umbrella that we sought when joining NATO back in 2004, and which we trust now,” Skaisgirytė told Žinių Radijas radio.
She said US officials have shown no signs of weakening their commitments to defend Europe with nuclear weapons, adding that they reaffirmed their resolve at the most recent NATO defence ministers meeting.
Her comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France would increase the number of its nuclear warheads and proposed creating a new European nuclear deterrence framework.
Skaisgirytė stressed that discussions on the issue are in the early stages and must first take place within France.
“It is very good that he talks about it, which means he cares about the future of Europe,” she said.
However, she cautioned that any debate over strengthening Europe’s nuclear protection must not undermine NATO unity.
“Even when talking about how to strengthen the nuclear protection of European states, we must not divide NATO,” Skaisgirytė said.
“For now, we have the NATO umbrella, the NATO nuclear umbrella, and that is a reliable, very reliable deterrent, for example, against Russia. If Russia fears anything, it fears the US nuclear deterrent, not anyone else’s,” she added.
Discussions about an independent European nuclear deterrent have been fuelled by concerns in Europe over a possible future reduction in US security commitments.
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