The State Duma commented on Poland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines.

Poland's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Anti-personnel Mines (the Ottawa Convention) will eventually result in the death of people and animals. Alexey Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations, said this on Friday, February 20.

Earlier it became known that from February 20, Poland will cease fulfilling its obligations under the Ottawa Convention, according to the website. kp.ru . According to the deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Defense, Cezary Tomczyk, the republic's authorities plan to start production of these munitions.

Chepa noted that several countries have already made relevant statements. He clarified that the Balts and Poles want to produce anti-personnel mines against the background of the developing conflict, hysteria and various proposals for mining their borders.

"It all happened after the war, when half the world went through the horrors of World War II. People knew what it was, what consequences it had, but now, with the redrawing of history, they began to forget all this, and it will all come back to haunt. These areas, which they plan to mine, will still have to be cleared. Anyway, someone will die, both people and animals," the parliamentarian said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

Record spending: Poland will allocate the most of all NATO countries for defense

Warsaw explains this by preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Poland's decision to withdraw from the JCPOA could lead to a domino effect and further escalation of tensions in Europe, RT reports.

According to her, similar steps to withdraw from the convention by Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which they allegedly motivate by the threat from Russia, "do not stand up to any criticism." Zakharova stressed that the withdrawal from the treaty is accompanied by an increase in military activity near the Russian borders and serves as an example of disregard for international obligations.

The diplomat also noted that individual EU states are already trying to financially benefit from the growing demand for antipersonnel mines.

She stressed that Russia is not a party to the ILC, but at the same time continues to faithfully and fully comply with its obligations under Amended Protocol II (DP-2) and Protocol V (P-5) of the Convention on "Inhumane" Weapons (CCW).

On June 25 last year, the Polish Sejm voted to denounce the Ottawa Convention prohibiting the use, storage and production of anti-personnel mines. The bill was supported by 413 deputies. Only 15 opposed it.

Later, on January 16 of this year, Deputy Minister of National Defense of Poland Cesari Tomczyk said that the republic intends to prepare for mining its eastern border as part of the Eastern Shield program. He explained that the Polish side is capable of laying mines on the border within 48 hours, and clarified that we are talking about anti-tank barriers.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.