PRAGUE, April 20 (Reuters) – The Czech Republic is interested in discussing possible involvement in a French plan to extend nuclear deterrence, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in March that France will expand its nuclear arsenal and strengthen its deterrent with an unprecedented cooperation with European partners.
Babis said the Czechs – a non-nuclear NATO member – were interested in discussing involvement in the plan, which would however take some time.
“We are interested in these initiatives and we have to discuss the details and seek some involvement,” he told a news conference, saying the Czech Republic had capable companies and army to contribute.
Babis said in a video message on Facebook on Sunday that he wanted to join the French initiative, and that France was an ideal European ally.
Germany has established a nuclear steering group on deterrence issues, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Poland was in talks with France and other European allies on the matter.
Though France and Britain are both nuclear powers, most European countries have relied primarily on the United States for deterring any potential adversaries — a decades-old pillar of transatlantic security.
Babis said the Czech Republic still considered the United States as an ally, which would not change.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka)
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