Finland votes to withdraw from landmine treaty due to Russia threat
Finland's parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to withdraw from an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, citing the threat posed by Russia.
Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 in favour of a government proposal to leave the Ottawa Treaty. The 1997 agreement, which prohibits the use, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines, has been ratified or acceded to by more than 160 countries.
NATO member Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre land border with Russia, has said landmines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack.
Russia has not joined the Ottawa Treat, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has turned the war-torn country into the world's most mine-laden nation, according to analysts.
Several other European and NATO nations bordering Russia — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — have recently pulled out of the treaty or announced plans to do so.
Finland's President Alexander Stubb defended the decision.
"The reality in the endgame is that we have as our neighbouring country an aggressive, imperialist state called Russia, which itself is not a member of the Ottawa Treaty and which itself uses landmines ruthlessly," he said.
Earlier this week, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres launched a global campaign to boost support for disarmament and mine action. He said he was "very concerned" by announcements and steps by several UN member countries to leave the Ottawa Treaty.
In response, Finland's Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said the "government and parliament have a duty to take measures that reduce Finland's risk of being attacked."
"Protection against the Russian threat takes priority," he wrote on X on Tuesday.
Under the treaty's rules, the withdrawal will take effect six months after Finland formally notifies the UN, at which point the country will be permitted to stockpile landmines.
The US, China, India, Pakistan and South Korea are among the major nations to not have joined the pact.
According to NATO, nearly 70 countries and territories are still affected by the presence of some 110 million land mines, which can remain dormant under the ground for many years before being triggered.
At least 5,757 people — mostly civilians — were killed or wounded by landmines and unexploded ordnance in 2023, the NGO Landmine Monitor said.
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