“These discussions [within the EU] are underway,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters.
Germany is bound by two international pacts NOT to possess its own nuclear weapons, including Two Plus Four Treaty that allowed the reunification of Germany in 1990, and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Merz said that the talks between Germany and other EU members on joint nuclear deterrence are in their very early stages and claimed they don't contradict the nuclear sharing with the US.
Although Germany is not a nuclear power, under NATO’s nuclear sharing concept the country provides combat aircraft that could be equipped with US nuclear weapons stored on German soil.
Russia has repeatedly condemned the escalation of tensions in Europe driven by NATO and EU member states, stressing that the true purpose of this strategy is to form public demand for militarization.