The media learned about the possible withdrawal of the Baltic States from the anti-personnel mines treaty
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- The media learned about the possible withdrawal of the Baltic States from the anti-personnel mines treaty
The Defense Ministers of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania recommend that their countries withdraw from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of anti-personnel mines. This was announced on March 18 in a statement by the countries.
"Military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have increased significantly <...> We believe that in the current security environment, it is extremely important to provide our defense forces with flexibility and freedom of choice for the potential use of new weapons systems. In the light of these considerations, we <... We unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention," the document says.
At the same time, according to the Politico newspaper, this is more of a "political signal to Moscow" than a reflection of the immediate military need.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur clarified that decisions on the Ottawa Convention should be made on the basis of solidarity and coordination in the region. According to him, at present, States do not have plans to develop, accumulate or use previously prohibited anti-personnel mines.
In turn, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said that Helsinki was also considering withdrawing from the convention, but the party had not signed the statement.
The Ottawa Convention was signed on December 3, 1997 and entered into force on March 1, 1999. It prohibits the use, production and storage of anti-personnel mines.
On March 7, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Warsaw was considering the possibility of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, as well as from the Dublin Convention on Cluster Munitions. He stressed that all Polish neighbors have both types of weapons. According to him, in such circumstances, Warsaw itself should use all available means to ensure the security of the state.
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