Poland and the three Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, announced on Tuesday their decision to withdraw from the Convention on the prohibition of, also known as, in order to better protect their borders and the entire Eastern NATO flank before the Russian threat.
“The Defense Ministers of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland have jointly decided at the regional level to reinforce our border recommending the withdrawal of the Ottawa Convention,” said headline of the branch, Andris Sprūd, in the social network X.
“We have to prepare for the possibility that Russia continues to raise threats to our region, regardless of the result of the Russian war in Ukraine,” he added.
Sprūd explained that these four countries will have, by denouncing the treaty, “the opportunity to ensure the production of antipersonal mines”, although they undertake to continue “defending all international norms and humanitarian law in consultation with our allies.”
In a joint statement, Poland and Baltic countries explain that, since the ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of Employment, Storage, Production and Transfer of Antipersonal Mines and its destruction, which entered into force in 1999, the security situation in the region has deteriorated significantly.
“Military threats to NATO allies have increased significantly,” indicate the Ministers of Defense, and “in the light of this unstable security environment marked by Russian aggression and its continuous threat to the euroatlántic community, it is essential to evaluate all measures to strengthen our deterrence and defense capabilities,” they add.
The four countries consider that in the current situation, “it is extremely important to grant our defense forces with flexibility and freedom of choice regarding the potential use of new weapons and solutions systems to improve the defense of the vulnerable eastern flank of the” Atlantic alliance.
With the joint decision, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia “send the clear message that we are prepared and we can use any necessary measure to defend our territory and our freedom,” emphasize the defense ministers of these countries.
Finally, and after reaffirming their commitment to fulfilling the humanitarian principles and the protection of civilians during an armed conflict, the four member countries of the European Union (EU) and NATO express their gratitude and support of allies and partners who “recognize the important challenges in terms of security” that they are facing and that respect their decision.
