diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 7c454f79c6c19f98ef5dd2bc5b75c37bf2a18da1..ad2ceb66a9cd3397092c58fde087a79e29bc3660 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -216,9 +216,11 @@ check-logs:
 
 .PHONY: check-changes
 check-changes:
+if USEPYTHON
 	@if test -d "$(top_srcdir)/changes"; then \
 		$(PYTHON) $(top_srcdir)/scripts/maint/lintChanges.py $(top_srcdir)/changes; \
 		fi
+endif
 
 .PHONY: update-versions
 update-versions: