Lithuania’s parliament votes to remove ban on nuclear weapons deployment

TASS

VILNIUS, October 6. /TASS/. Lithuania’s Seimas (parliament) has voted to lift a ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons in the country.

A second vote in three months is required for the decision to come into force.

A total of 106 lawmakers voted to abolish the constitutional provision banning the deployment of nuclear weapons in the country, while six abstained and 18 voted against.

"Lifting the ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons removes legal restrictions in the field of security that were different from those in other EU and NATO countries," Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas said.

The Seimas decision means that Article 137, which bans the deployment of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, in Lithuania, will be removed from the constitution. The same article also bans the presence of foreign military bases in the country. Vilnius is currently pushing for the establishment of a US base.

The Seimas is supposed to hold two votes on any constitutional amendments with a three-month interval between them. An amendment requires the support of a qualified majority of 94 of the 141 lawmakers. The second vote is set for January 12.

Fonte: TASS