STOCKHOLM, April 1. /TASS/. Finland is beginning preparations for its exit from the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo."Finland is starting preparations to leave the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines," he told a news conference. According to Orpo, this step will allow Helsinki to "prepare more comprehensively for changes in the security sector."
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that Finland remains committed to the humanitarian objectives of the Ottawa Convention. "Anti-personnel mines are a necessary and cost-effective way to complement the capabilities of our armed forces. Finland will remain committed to the humanitarian goals of the Ottawa Convention," she said.
Earlier, the defense ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia jointly recommended that their countries withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, arguing that "military threats to the NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have increased significantly."
The Ottawa Convention entered into force in 1999, when 164 states, including Ukraine, joined it. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, anti-personnel mines cause a large number of civilian casualties and continue to pose a danger for many years after the end of hostilities.