MILAN — Finland, which shares NATO’s longest border with Russia, will withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, according to President Alexander Stubb.
The decision comes shortly after Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland said they were assessing the possibility of exiting the treaty, which would allow them to stockpile and use landmines to secure their respective borders with Russia.
“Finland will prepare for the withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention – the decision is based on a thorough assessment by the relevant ministries and the Defense Forces,” Stubb said in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter.
Finland shares a 1,340 kilometer border with Russia, the longest of any alliance member country.
The convention, which was formalized almost three decades ago, has 133 signatories and 165 parties, according to the latest available data from the United Nations. However, countries such as Russia, Belarus, the United States and China have never ratified it.
Moscow has made extensive use of anti-personnel mines in Ukraine, with the UN reporting that Ukraine had become the most mined country in the world last year, with “hundreds of thousands of explosive remnants of war.”
The Ukraine war has highlighted the double-edge sword that landmines represent in military operations. Despite the long-term dangers that unexploded ordnance poses to civilians, the weapons have allowed Ukrainian troops to effectively defend themselves and their territory against Russian aggression.
It appears to be these defensive advantages that European countries are after, according to the Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
“Withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention will give us the possibility to prepare for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way,” he said during a press conference on April 1.
Finland also committed to raising its defense expenditure to 3% of its gross domestic product by 2029, according to Stubb.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
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