By Barbara Erling and Anna Koper
WARSAW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Poland is sceptical of France's role in a potential European nuclear-deterrence plan and sees only the United States as a credible nuclear partner for now, the president's top security adviser said.
Earlier this month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Berlin had opened discussions with France, the EU's only nuclear power since Britain left the bloc, on a possible continent-wide deterrent.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Poland has begun talks with France too but stressed he needs specifics before discussing any membership of any European programme.
Slawomir Cenckiewicz, head of Warsaw's National Security Bureau, said that Poland should monitor the Berlin-Paris talks, but prioritise NATO's existing nuclear-sharing programme - allowing non-nuclear allies to host and deliver U.S. warheads - to counter potential Russian threats.
Cenckiewicz said the French doctrine would place full control of the nuclear weapons in the hands of the French president - something that Emmanuel Macron himself is set to spell out on Monday.
He said the use of nuclear weapons under NATO's collective-defence clause, Article 5, which treats an attack on one as an attack on all, should be an allied decision.
He added the United States remained the only credible partner for Poland on nuclear matters, citing its clear advantage over European nuclear powers including France and Britain.
"The United States has not stopped in this military and intelligence area for a moment, but is simply constantly developing this potential and investing in it," he told Reuters.
Most European countries rely primarily on the United States for deterring any potential adversaries. But President Donald Trump's rapprochement with Russia on the Ukraine war and his posture towards traditional allies - including threats to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark - have rattled European governments.
French officials say Paris does not seek to replace the U.S. umbrella or compete with NATO.
Cenckiewicz's comments also underscore Poland's own political divide: Tusk's pro-EU government seeks deeper European integration, while President Karol Nawrocki - aligned with Trump - emphasises transatlantic bonds and NATO.
The pair are frequently at odds on defence issues and ultimately the president, as supreme commander of the armed forces, can block government initiatives.
Cenckiewicz says Warsaw needs to build forces adequate to the threats it faces.
"Russia must be treated as an existential threat to Poland," Cenckiewicz said. "In this logic, whether participation, entry into nuclear sharing, or in the perspective of building one's own sovereign nuclear capabilities is a consequence."
(Reporting by Barbara Erling, Anna Koper; Editing by Alison Williams)
