Poland and the Baltic States have announced plans to withdraw from a key international treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing threats from Russia.
In a joint statement, the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland stressed that since the signing of the Ottawa treaty, threats from Moscow and its ally Belarus have increased significantly.
This is said to be a move aimed at giving troops more flexibility and choice to defend NATO's eastern flank. The Ottawa Treaty, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, came into force in 1997.
It aims to ban anti-personnel mines, which target people, and has been signed by more than 160 countries. But several major military powers, including China, India, Russia, Pakistan and the United States, have never signed the treaty.
The Baltic states signed the convention in 2005, while Poland did the same in 2012. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the defense ministers of these countries said that the security situation in the region since the signing of the treaty has deteriorated significantly, prompting them to withdraw from the convention.
However, they emphasize that they remain committed to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians during armed conflict. All of these countries, which are part of NATO, share borders with Russia. (A2 Televizion)
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