Talk of European nuclear deterrent ‘not helpful’, says NATO’s Stoltenberg

MUNICH (Reuters) – Talk of a potential European nuclear deterrent that would not involve the United States is “not helpful”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday.

Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference, Stoltenberg said any questioning of NATO’s current nuclear deterrent “would only undermine NATO in a time when we really need credible deterrence”.

Some German politicians have in recent weeks raised the prospect of Europe developing its own nuclear deterrent in order to be less reliant on the United States for the continent’s defence.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Maria Sheahan)