Camilla Jessen
Finland follows other Eastern European countries in stepping away from a major anti-landmine agreement.
Finland has decided to withdraw from an international treaty that bans anti-personnel landmines. The country’s parliament approved the move on Thursday, according to Reuters and Digi24.
The decision was made because of increasing fear about Russia, Finland’s large and powerful neighbor.
The treaty in question is the Ottawa Convention, signed by over 160 countries to ban landmines that are hidden in the ground and designed to injure or kill people.
Russia never signed the agreement and has used landmines during its war in Ukraine.
Not the Only One
Finland is not alone in making this choice. Other countries in the region—Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland—have already left or are planning to leave the treaty.
All of them are either NATO or EU members and share borders with Russia.
On Tuesday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb defended the decision.
“The truth is, we have an aggressive, imperialist neighbor called Russia,” he said. “Russia is not part of the Ottawa Treaty and uses landmines without hesitation.”
The use of anti-personnel landmines is controversial.
These weapons can remain in the ground for years, posing a danger to civilians long after wars end. Still, some countries say they need them for defense—especially when facing a much larger military threat.
Finland’s move follows a similar path taken by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, whose parliaments have also voted to leave the treaty.