Lithuanian Seimas approves withdrawal from Ottawa Convention on prohibition of anti-personnel mines

The Lithuanian Seimas has approved a bill on the country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of anti-personnel mines. This was reported on the parliament's website on May 6.

"The denunciation of the convention is appropriate, since the security situation in our region has deteriorated significantly, and military threats to Lithuania and other NATO member states have increased...> increased significantly," the report says.

It is specified that the final vote on the adoption of this draft at a meeting of the Seimas is scheduled for May 8.

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.

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On April 24, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics approved the law on withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention. It is indicated that, according to Latvia, anti-personnel mines in combination with other weapons systems enhance the defense capability, which cannot be replaced by alternative options.

On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the joint statements of the Baltic States and Poland on withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention are associated with benefits for NATO. According to her, these states are aimed at developing cooperation with manufacturers of antipersonnel mines from the United States.