Lithuania’s parliament has approved in the first reading a bill to strike from the Constitution the article that prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, on the country’s territory. The initiative received 99 votes in favour, 13 against and five abstentions.
Article 137 of Lithuania’s Constitution, adopted in 1992, explicitly bans weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on the republic’s territory. Lithuania had remained the only NATO member with such a constitutional restriction.
Presenting the draft, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said Europe’s security situation had changed. He pointed to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the escalation of nuclear rhetoric and the build-up of military infrastructure in the Kaliningrad region and Belarus. In his view, the constitutional ban prevents Lithuania from fully participating in NATO nuclear deterrence.
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Remigijus Motuzas noted that Latvia, Estonia and Poland have no comparable restrictions. “We cannot be less protected than other NATO countries. We must make it clear to allies and adversaries that Lithuania will defend its independence by every available means,” he said.
For the amendment to be adopted finally, the Seimas must hold two further votes at least three months apart. The first is scheduled for 9 October and the second for 12 January 2027. Each vote requires the support of at least 94 of the 141 members.
Lithuanian authorities have repeatedly stressed that lifting the ban does not mean nuclear weapons will be stationed in peacetime. President Gitanas Nausėda had earlier described Article 137 as outdated and said it created a “grey zone” inside NATO.
The process of amending the Constitution began in the summer of 2026 after parliamentary faction leaders agreed on the need for change. At that time the president called the provision obsolete in the new geopolitical circumstances.
Removing Article 137 eliminates a domestic legal obstacle, but any decision to host U.S. nuclear warheads would still require separate political agreement within NATO and with Washington. Lithuania remains a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
