Latest news with #Anti-PersonnelMinesConvention
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Poland eyes 1 million landmines for borders with Belarus, Russia
WARSAW, Poland — The Polish government has unveiled plans to boost domestic landmine production following an announcement that the country, along with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, would pull out the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Paweł Bejda said the country would launch production of the weapons in a bid to safeguard the country's eastern borders with Russia and Belarus. 'We want these mines to be produced in Poland, we have such capacities. The issue at hand is to increase such capacities … and we treat equally the private defense industry and the state-owned one,' Bejda told local radio broadcaster RMF FM in an interview. The Polish military needs landmines 'in the range of several hundred thousand, even up to 1 million' units, he said. Polish Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has stated the process of withdrawing from the convention will involve the country's Cabinet, parliament and president, and end with a notification to the United Nations. Following the notification, the withdrawal procedure could take around six months, he said. Asked for details on which companies could produce landmines, the deputy defense minister said that Poland's state-run defense group PGZ will be involved in the manufacturing. Meanwhile, Latvia is 'looking into all possible options when it comes to strengthening Latvia's deterrence and defense capabilities,' Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds said in a statement. The Baltic nation 'must prepare as Russia continues to pose a serious threat to the region, regardless of how hostilities in Ukraine develop. Withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention has the potential to ensure the production of anti-personnel mines,' Sprūds said.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Poland, Baltics may withdraw from anti-personnel landmine treaty
WARSAW, Poland — The governments of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have announced their willingness to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, citing an increasingly belligerent Russia. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the four allies say that 'it is essential to evaluate all measures to strengthen our deterrence and defense capabilities,' according to a joint statement. This includes a potential return to using landmines to secure their respective borders with Russia. The treaty bans the development, manufacturing, use, storage and transfer of anti-personnel mines. Since ratifying the convention, 'the security situation in our region has fundamentally deteriorated,' the four defense ministries said in their statement. 'Military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased.' In light of the unstable security environment in the region, 'we — the Ministers of Defence of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland —unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention. With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom,' the statement reads. Concluded in September 1997, the convention has gathered 133 signatories and 165 parties, according to the latest available data from the United Nations. Russia is not a signatory of the treaty, nor is the United States.
