Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

that the debate on a nuclear-free world could weaken
the significance of its own nuclear deterrent. France
is the only <strong>NATO</strong> member that does not participate
in the <strong>Nuclear</strong> Planning Group. This French policy
is supposed to demonstrate the independence of the
French nuclear deterrent, but it also limits opportunities
to influence <strong>NATO</strong>’s nuclear weapons policy. 25
The Central <strong>and</strong> Eastern European states, as well
as the Baltic states, are also quite reluctant to push
for the removal of TNWs from European soil. They
feel threatened by Russia’s conventional forces <strong>and</strong>
tactical nuclear weapons. The Georgian war, Russian
maneuvers in the Baltic region (during which the
deployment of nuclear weapons was practiced), <strong>and</strong>
Moscow’s threat to counter the stationing of U.S. missile
defense components with deployment of shortrange
missiles in Kaliningrad, have all contributed to
concerns about Russia’s military policy, particularly
in the Baltic states. The Central <strong>and</strong> Eastern European
countries, because of their geographical situation <strong>and</strong>
history, are interested primarily in maintenance of
a credible <strong>NATO</strong> security guarantee. 26 On the other
h<strong>and</strong>, in February 2010, two acting foreign ministers
(Radek Sikorski from Pol<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Carl Bildt from
Sweden) called for the reduction <strong>and</strong> ultimately elimination
of European TNWs unilaterally or by negotiations.
27 In northern Europe, there is a special interest
in reducing the Russian TNW stockpile in Kaliningrad
<strong>and</strong> the Kola peninsula.
Turkey’s attitude to the Alliance’s future deterrence
<strong>and</strong> defense posture is ambivalent. Turkish
Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s government
is performing a difficult balancing act. On the one
h<strong>and</strong>, Turkey has advertised the priority it accords to
<strong>NATO</strong> membership by participating in the Alliance’s
268