Germany and France hold confidential talks over Europe's nuclear arsenal

The first duty of Europe and Germany is to recognise the new reality it faces, Friedrich Merz said.

According to the German Chancellor, the alliance has realized that its freedom is under threat and "must be ready for change and sacrifice." He added that the European Union will strengthen its intelligence services but must also develop its own security strategy.

The German Chancellor also noted that he has begun confidential negotiations with French President Emmanuel Macron on European nuclear deterrence.

Germany is considering this in compliance with its legal nuclear commitments as part of NATO, Merz said.

Russia’s nuclear threats

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons. In addition, Russia has twice launched intermediate-range ballistic missiles, known as Oreshnik, at Ukraine. These missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although they were not equipped with warheads in those instances.

Last September, during a meeting with members of Russia’s Security Council, Putin said that Russia was ready to respond to any "threat from the West" with military force, not just diplomatic statements.

Putin also expressed confidence in the reliability of Russia’s nuclear arsenal and complained about the degradation of strategic stability in the world.

As an example of shifting to "military-technical measures," he cited Russia’s withdrawal from its unilateral moratorium on deploying ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the United States is negotiating with Russia to limit the number of nuclear weapons. According to him, China may also be involved in the dialogue.