Lithuanian President Calls for Broader NATO Nuclear Sharing in Europe

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauséda has expressed his country's desire to become part of the Western nuclear deterrence system, calling for an expansion of NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements. Currently, U.S. nuclear weapons stored on European soil are located in only six countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, and the Netherlands. NATO's nuclear sharing program allows non-nuclear alliance members to participate in nuclear deterrence planning and, in specific circumstances, the delivery of nuclear weapons — a key pillar of the alliance's collective defense posture. Nauséda's statement reflects growing security concerns among Baltic and Eastern European NATO members, who have sought stronger deterrence commitments from the alliance amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and heightened tensions with Russia. Any expansion of nuclear sharing arrangements would require consensus among NATO allies and involves complex political, logistical, and arms control considerations.