Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen is not keen to remove nuclear weapons from Volkel airbase in the province of North Brabant after calls from a Labour MP to do so on NOS radio.

Labour MP Martijn van Dam was responding to remarks by US President Barack Obama that the number of nuclear arms in the world should be reduced. Two months ago the president signed an agreement with his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, to work towards nuclear arms reduction.

The Labour parliamentary faction thinks that the Netherlands can support Mr Obama's call by inviting the US to remove its nuclear devices from Dutch soil. "They're a remnant of the Cold War, which is over," Mr Van Dam said.

It has never been confirmed by the Dutch government that American nuclear bombs are stationed at Volkel airbase. The Labour MP points out, however, that the government of neighbouring Belgium made comments about the number of US-owned nuclear arms stored in several European countries which suggest that at least 22 of them are in the Netherlands.