Latvian Saeima approves withdrawal from Convention prohibiting use of anti-personnel mines
On Wednesday, April 16, the Latvian Sa eima approved a law on the country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Anti-Personnel Mines.
This is reported by Delfi, according to Censor.NET.
The decision to withdraw from the aforementioned convention was supported by 68 MPs, with 14 MPs from the opposition Stability and Latvia First parties voting against.
It is noted that this decision was made taking into account the need to strengthen security, defense and deterrence capabilities in the current geopolitical environment.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in justifying this decision, stated that Russia, with its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, has shown that it does not respect the territorial borders of sovereign states and international law. Therefore, it is important for Latvia to maintain freedom of choice and flexibility in the use of various weapons systems and solutions to strengthen the deterrence and defense of the state.
The Latvian Foreign Ministry also added that unguided anti-personnel mines in combination with other mines and weapons systems increase the ability of the defense forces to delay or stop Russia's mass movements.
Earlier it was reported that Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland, which share a common border with Russia, are "very close" to making a decision to withdraw from the anti-personnel mine ban treaty.
