German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out the possibility of Germany acquiring its own nuclear weapons amid the ongoing debate over a European nuclear deterrent.

Axar.az reports that speaking on the political podcast Machtwechsel, Merz stated, “I do not want Germany to even consider independent nuclear armament.” He pointed to existing international commitments that bind Germany to refrain from nuclear weapons development.

In particular, Merz referred to the Two Plus Four Agreement, signed in 1990 as part of German reunification, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1970. Both agreements commit Germany to abstain from pursuing nuclear armament.

However, Merz indicated that Germany could theoretically expand its current nuclear-sharing arrangements. At present, German Tornado fighter jets stationed at Büchel Air Base are capable of carrying U.S. nuclear weapons as part of NATO’s deterrence framework. Merz suggested that, in purely theoretical terms, this mechanism could also be extended to include British or French nuclear weapons.

The debate intensified after Merz revealed at the Munich Security Conference that he is holding discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron on the possibility of a joint European nuclear deterrence strategy. Macron had first proposed such talks in 2020 during the presidency of Donald Trump, but the idea did not gain traction under former German chancellors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz.

Currently, NATO’s nuclear deterrence remains largely dependent on U.S. nuclear weapons. Estimates suggest that approximately 100 U.S. nuclear bombs are stationed in Europe, with some reportedly located in Büchel, Germany.