Lithuania withdraws from Ottawa Treaty

The Lithuanian Seimas has approved the country’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines, which will allow the country to strengthen its border with Russia.

The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania reported that 107 deputies voted in favor, with three abstentions.

At least 85 votes were needed for Lithuania to withdraw from the convention.

The Ministry of Defense clarified that the decision will come into force in six months.

The Baltic states, Poland, and Finland announced their intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty due to the Russian threat.

At the end of April, this decision was supported by the Committee on National Security and Defense of the Lithuanian Seimas.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 32 countries are not parties to the Ottawa Convention, including Russia, the United States, and China.

Lithuania ratified the Convention, which aims to eliminate anti-personnel mines, in 2003.

The agreement obliged not to use, create, produce, acquire, stockpile, store or transfer anti-personnel mines.

Now the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense is considering strengthening the border with Russia and Belarus by mining it. Mines will become an additional line of border defense within the framework of the concept of counter-mobility, with the aim of longer-term deterrence of the enemy.

At the end of April, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs also signed a law on the country’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention.

In the Kursk region, Russian military movement routes have been mined with Finnish MPIM Hailstorm mini mines.