VILNIUS, July 1. /TASS/. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda backs the idea of country’s withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions, his office said in a statement.
"The president calls for using all possible means, including cluster munitions, to defend the country and improve the army’s combat capabilities," the statement reads.
Notably, the president said earlier that Lithuania’s withdrawal from the convention would negatively affect its image on the international stage.
A draft government decree that the Lithuanian Defense Ministry included in the cabinet’s agenda on Friday recommends the country’s parliament denounce the decision on Lithuania’s participation in the convention. The issue is expected to be discussed this week. Under the procedure, parliament has the final say in terms of the country’s withdrawal from this kind of international agreements. Once a decision is made, the president is supposed to either approve or reject it.
Vilnius joined the 2008 convention in 2011. The Lithuanian Defense Ministry sees cluster munitions as effective weapons, saying that the country’s army should use them because a potential enemy will surely use them.