President Gitanas Nauseda said Lithuania's constitutional ban on nuclear weapons and foreign military bases had become "outdated," as Finland's own nuclear ban formally ended on Wednesday, prompting Russian threats that Moscow could destroy half the country.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the Baltic country’s top political leaders had agreed that a constitutional ban on the domestic deployment of nuclear weapons should be removed.
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Nauseda said Article 137 of Lithuania’s constitution, which explicitly prohibits the deployment of weapons of mass destruction and the establishment of foreign military bases on Lithuanian territory had become “outdated” and “obsolete,” according to a report by a state broadcaster LRT.
“The geopolitical situation is getting worse. Our constitution was written when geopolitical circumstances were totally different,” Nauseda said.
The Baltic country hosts a NATO multinational battlegroup with a permanent presence of up to 5,000 German soldiers.
But Lithuania is also surrounded by a nuclear-capable arsenal deployed in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, Moscow’s strongest ally.
Now that the leaders of Lithuania's political parties have agreed in principle to amend the country's constitution, the question is whether to make the change via a parliamentary vote — as Finland did — or hold a referendum.
Finland lifted its nuclear ban
Finland recently voted to lift its long-time ban on nuclear weapons, allowing the country to receive, transport, and facilitate the movement of nuclear arms on its territory as part of allied defence.
The new measure took effect on Wednesday.
Finland announced plans to partner with the US defence firm Lockheed Martin to build Europe's first maintenance centre for multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) in Tampere.
The news caused anger and threats in Russia, with first deputy chair of the Russian State Duma Defence Committee Aleksey Zhuravlyov accusing Finland of becoming "a second Ukraine" and openly threatening that Moscow has the military might to destroy half the country.