The Government of Estonia approved the withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines, reported the portal ERR. Now the bill must go to parliament, which will consider it in two readings. The approval of the bill will require the support of the majority of deputies.
According to Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, the withdrawal from the convention is due to the worsening security situation caused by the war initiated by Russia against Ukraine. «Russia is the main threat to our security, it is not a participant in the Ottawa Convention, and in Ukraine, an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers is mined», said Tsahkna.
Alongside Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland have initiated withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention.
On April 16, the Latvian Sejm passed a law in the final reading on the country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, with 66 deputies voting «for» and 14 «against». Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has already signed the law. The annex to the law states that in the 20 years since Latvia joined the convention, the regional security situation has significantly changed, and Russia, by starting a war against Ukraine, has demonstrated that it does not respect the territorial boundaries of sovereign states and international law.
«Considering the dynamics of the regional security situation, it is important for Latvia not to limit the flexibility of its actions and to have the ability to apply various weapon systems and solutions to strengthen deterrence and ensure the protection of the state and its population», the explanation states. The Ottawa Convention, which came into force in 1999, prohibits countries that have joined it from using, stockpiling, producing, and transferring anti-personnel mines, and also requires their destruction. Currently, more than 160 countries are parties to the treaty. Non-signatory countries include China, Russia, the USA, India, and Pakistan.