Baltic Nuclear Shift: Lithuania Moves to Drop WMD Ban With Ankara Summit Days Away

Lithuania moved to remove the last constitutional obstacle to hosting nuclear arms on NATO’s eastern flank, ahead of a major alliance summit in Ankara. On July 2, 2026, President Gitanas Nausėda said leaders of all parliamentary factions reached near-unanimous agreement to repeal Article 137 of the Lithuanian constitution, which bans weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on Lithuanian soil. A bill to repeal the clause was filed in the Seimas on July 3 with 51 co-sponsors, enabling it to proceed under parliamentary rules. The move followed Finland’s nuclear weapons prohibition ceasing to have legal effect one day earlier. The article frames both changes as the two most significant nuclear posture shifts among NATO’s newest eastern members since the Cold War ended, signaling a question for the July 7 Ankara summit about where NATO’s nuclear deterrent will be based. It also notes a procedural dispute from the opposition Nemunas Dawn party, which wants a national referendum rather than a parliamentary vote.