Norway Slams Poland, Baltic States for Withdrawal from Ottawa Convention

Norway has criticized fellow NATO members- Poland, Latvia, Estonia & Lithuania for considering withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention that bans signatory countries from deploying anti-personnel mines.

“We are concerned by the news that Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland are now considering withdrawing from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Despite the current security environment, these weapons have no place in modern warfare,' said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide.

“Disarmament conventions.. are particularly relevant in times of conflict. Landmines hinder reconstruction, continue to kill and maim many years after wars have ended, destroy farmland, make school roads unsafe, and render large areas of land unusable. This is why we must uphold obligations under international humanitarian law, even when the security situation deteriorates,” said Eide.

Ottawa Convention withdrawal to enable use of new weapons- Defense minters of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland

The Ministers of Defence of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland—unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention. With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom, a joint statement said March 18.

We believe that in the current security environment it is paramount to provide our defence forces flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster the defence of the (NATO) Alliance’s vulnerable Eastern Flank.