Lithuanian president formally proposes exiting anti-personnel mine ban convention

VILNIUS - President Gitanas Nauseda is submitting a proposal to the parliament for Lithuania to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines.

In his decree signed on Friday, the president is asking the parliament to debate the bill under a fast-track procedure.

Pulling out of the convention would allow Lithuania to acquire, produce, stockpile, use and transfer anti-personnel mines.

According to the Defense Ministry, which initiated the withdrawal, the security situation in the region has significantly deteriorated since Lithuania ratified the treaty in 2003, with threats from Russia and Belarus growing sharply.

The ministry says that the use of anti-personnel mines would enhance the Lithuanian Armed Forces' ability to restrict enemy movement, particularly at critical and hard-to-access points on the battlefield.

It also says that even after withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, Lithuania would continue to honor its international humanitarian law obligations under other international treaties, as well as universally recognized international customs concerning the means and methods of warfare.

In March, the defense ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland issued a joint statement calling on their countries to pull out of the treaty. They were later joined by Finland.