Defense Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland issued on Tuesday a joint statement in which they called for the withdrawal from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention), given the current situation in the region.
The defense ministers insisted that the military threats to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries that are bordering Russia and Belarus have increased "significantly." For this reason, they believe that it is "essential to evaluate all measures to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities."
The four countries promised to still follow international humanitarian law despite their withdrawal. According to the defense ministers, pulling out of the convention would allow the defense forces to be flexible and have "freedom of choice" when it comes to the potential use of new weapon systems.
