UK and France urged to form ‘nuclear shield’ across Europe over Putin attack fears
It comes after Donald trump said he would let the Russian president 'do whatever the hell he wants'.
A German minister has called for the UK and France to form a ‘nuclear shield’ against Russia.
Christian Linder made the suggestion after Donald Trump said he would let Russia ‘do whatever the hell it wants’ to Nato members if they devote 2% of their GDP to defence.
The finance minister wrote: ‘Under what political and financial conditions would Paris and London be prepared to maintain or expand their own strategic capabilities for collective security?
‘When it comes to peace and freedom in Europe, we must not shy away from these difficult questions.’
The UK and France are Europe’s only states with nuclear powers and maintain their own control over the weapons despite being in Nato.
France has traditionally seen itself as a counterweight to US influence in Nato. It does not participate in Nato’s nuclear planning group.
But President Emmanuel Macron insists that France must maintain its independence when it comes to the possible use of nuclear weapons.
He said in December his country has a ‘very special responsibility’ as a nuclear power in Europe and ‘stands by’ its allies and European partners.
President Joe Biden branded Mr Trump’s remarks ‘dangerous’ and ‘un-American,’ seizing on the former president’s comments as they fuel doubt among US partners about its future dependability on the global stage.
Chancellor OIaf Scholz and other top security policy officials believe there is no alternative to Nato’s nuclear umbrella.
Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said: ‘I welcome that the European allies are investing more in defence, and Nato has called for that for many, many years.
‘But that’s not an alternative to Nato. That is actually a way to strength Nato. And we should not pursue any path that indicates that we are trying to divide Europe from North America.
‘Nato has a nuclear deterrent, and this has worked for decades.
‘We should not do anything to undermine that. That will only create more uncertainty and more room for miscalculation and misunderstanding.’
Nato’s nuclear deterrence relies in part on US warheads deployed in Europe using local infrastructure.
The alliance conducts a major nuclear exercise every year to ensure its readiness and to act as a deterrent to any would-be aggressor, primarily Russia.
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