**Poland and Baltic States Plan to Leave Landmine Treaty**
The defense ministers of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have announced plans to leave a major international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. They say this is because the threat from Russia has increased.
In a joint statement, they said that since signing the Ottawa Treaty in 1997, threats from Moscow and its ally Belarus have gotten worse. The ministers want their troops to have more freedom to defend NATO’s eastern flank.
The Ottawa Treaty bans anti-personnel mines worldwide and has been signed by over 160 countries. However, some major military powers like Russia and China never signed up to it. Poland and the Baltic states signed the treaty in 2012 and 2005 respectively.
**Russia Threat Increases**
The defense ministers said that since signing the treaty, the security situation in their region has “significantly deteriorated”. They claim this is because of Russia’s actions, and they want to be able to defend themselves.
“We recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention,” the ministers wrote. This means Poland and the Baltic states will leave the treaty, but they still promise to follow international humanitarian laws.
**NATO Alliance**
All four countries are part of NATO, and they share borders with Russia. They have increased military spending since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Baltic States and Poland also provide a lot of aid to Ukraine.
The UN estimates that Ukraine is now the most mined country in the world. However, Article 20 of the Ottawa Treaty says that a nation can’t leave the treaty if it’s currently at war, which means Poland and the Baltic states might face challenges when they try to withdraw.