The Seimas (parliament) of Lithuania decided to denounce the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) on Thursday, the Lithuanian parliament’s press service reported.
One hundred and seven members of the Seimas voted in favour of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, with three abstaining.
According to the initiators of the initiative, the denunciation of the convention is appropriate because the security situation in our region has significantly deteriorated.
Remigijus Motuzas, Chairman of the Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Committee, said that all states bordering Russia have already ratified this convention or are preparing to do so.
The APMBC was adopted on September 18, 1997 in Ottawa. This treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines. Lithuania has been a party to the APMBC since 2003. The republic’s withdrawal will take effect six months after the date of notification to the UN Secretary-General.
At the end of April, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs signed a law on the country’s withdrawal from the APMBC.
Earlier, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius ruled out Germany’s withdrawal from the conventions on mines and cluster munitions.
