The quartet bordering Russia proposes withdrawing from the Ottawa treaty, but add they have no plans to use landmines.
Published On 18 Mar 2025
Poland and the Baltic states plan to withdraw from an international convention banning the use of landmines, citing potential military threats from neighbouring Russia.
The defence ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia said in a statement on Tuesday that they “unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention”.
The statement argued that the security situation in the region has “fundamentally deteriorated” since the treaty was ratified in 1999 by more than 160 nations, although neither Russia nor the United States signed up.
“Military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased,” the statement read.
Poland joined the Western military alliance the same year the treaty was ratified. The Baltic states became NATO members in 2004.
“With this decision, we are sending a clear message: