The Latvian Parliament supported the countryʼs withdrawal from the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines

On April 16, the Latvian Parliament passed in final reading a bill on the countryʼs withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, and production of anti-personnel mines.

This is reported by Delfi.

Latviaʼs withdrawal from this convention was supported by 66 MPs. 14 MPs from the "For Stability" and "Latvia First" parties voted against. Two abstained, and three did not vote.

The country intends to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention at the same time as Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland — in March of this year, the countries announced that they wanted to withdraw from it.

In a joint statement, the countries noted that after the ratification of the Convention, the security situation in the region has deteriorated dramatically. Military threats to countries bordering Russia and Belarus have increased significantly. Therefore, the states will review all security measures to deter possible aggression.

The countriesʼ defense ministers emphasize that despite withdrawing from the Convention, the countries will remain committed to international humanitarian law. Finland has also announced its withdrawal from this convention.

• The Ottawa Convention was adopted on December 3, 1997, and entered into force on March 1, 1999. Ukraine ratified it on December 27, 2005, becoming a party on June 1, 2006. At the time of signing, Ukraine had the fifth largest arsenal of anti-personnel mines in the world, behind only China, Russia, the United States, and Pakistan.
• In early March, Lithuania withdrew from the Convention on the Prohibition of Cluster Munitions due to the threat from Russia. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also spoke about his intention to withdraw from the conventions on the prohibition of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions.

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