Seimas backs first step toward lifting constitutional nuclear weapons ban

Lithuania’s parliament has backed, at the first reading, a proposal to remove the constitutional provision banning nuclear weapons, LRT reported. Conservative party TS-LKD chairman Laurynas Kasčiūnas said the change would allow Lithuania to take a full part in NATO’s nuclear deterrence planning.

Kasčiūnas argued that the current restriction leaves Lithuania outside the regional framework, unlike Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland. He said it could prevent allied aircraft carrying nuclear weapons from entering Lithuanian airspace for deterrence purposes, or an allied ship carrying such weapons from entering the Baltic Sea and Lithuania’s territorial waters.

He said the proposal was not about permanently stationing nuclear weapons in Lithuania, which would require costly infrastructure. Kasčiūnas said a final parliamentary decision was expected on January 12 and that support appeared sufficient.

Ignas Vėgėlė, a member of the parliament’s Mixed Group, opposed removing the provision. He said Lithuania was already part of NATO’s air defence and nuclear deterrence system, and that the US nuclear umbrella was the alliance’s ultimate security guarantee.

Vėgėlė also said the Constitutional Court had found that foreign military bases could be allowed in Lithuania if they were jointly managed and controlled by the country. He added that nuclear weapons could also be permitted to transit Lithuanian territory under certain conditions and depending on the level of threat. He warned that removing the restriction could make Lithuania a greater target for Russia.