Lithuanian lawmakers advance bid to remove constitutional weapons ban

Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday approved a proposal to remove the constitutional ban on weapons of mass destruction in the country, LRT reported. The motion passed 99 votes to 13, with five lawmakers abstaining.

Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas said the first vote on adopting the constitutional amendment is scheduled for October 6, with the final vote planned for January 12 next year.

The amendment will require two further votes, separated by three months. At least 94 of the 141 members of parliament will have to support it.

Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, said the amendment was unnecessary. He argued that Russia and Belarus would use it for propaganda and that nuclear-armed states could deploy such weapons to defend Lithuania if necessary.

“This article of the Constitution can only be changed through a referendum,” Žemaitaitis said.

Ignas Vėgėlė, a member of parliament from the mixed parliamentary group, noted that the provision being removed concerns not only nuclear weapons but also the presence of foreign military bases in Lithuania. He questioned why that part of the provision was also being deleted.

According to Vėgėlė, the Constitutional Court has ruled that foreign military bases may operate in Lithuania if they are established by allies and controlled and managed by Lithuania. He said the same approach should apply to weapons of mass destruction.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, leader of the opposition Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats parliamentary group, said nuclear weapons were among the most effective deterrence measures. He argued that nuclear deterrence had prevented the Cold War from becoming a “hot” war.

Kasčiūnas said Lithuania was the only country in the region with such a restriction, claiming that Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland did not have it. He added that removing the ban would not mean Lithuania planned to station such weapons in the country, but would strengthen its security by opening that possibility.

Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, said Lithuania should not obstruct NATO’s nuclear deterrence or become the weakest link in the alliance in the region.

“Lithuania must clearly show allies and adversaries that it will defend its independence by all means. We cannot be less protected than other NATO countries,” Motuzas said.

Liberal leader Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen said deterrence was not an escalation of war and that an aggressor would not be deterred if Lithuania were weaker and remained silent.

Article 137 of Lithuania’s Constitution currently states that weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases may not be located on the country’s territory. The amendment under consideration would remove that provision.