Today, June 19, the Finnish parliament voted to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of anti-personnel mines, amid concerns about the military threat from russia.
It was reported by Reuters.
Thus, Finland joins other members of the European Union and NATO bordering russia - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland - in withdrawing from the treaty due to growing concerns about its neighbor.
"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," said Finnish President Alexander Stubb. In particular, russia used these mines in the war in Ukraine.
According to YLE, 157 parliamentarians voted to withdraw from the convention. 18 voted to remain. No abstentions. 24 MPs were absent from the vote.
Meanwhile, Finland, which guards NATO’s longest border with russia, will be able to start stockpiling anti-personnel mines six months after it formally notifies other treaty members and the United Nations of its withdrawal.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday launched a new effort to “uphold the norms of humanitarian disarmament,” urging all states to abide by existing treaties and immediately halt any steps to withdraw from them.
Responding to Guterres’ concerns, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said the aim of the withdrawal was to protect civilians and minimise casualties.
"I believe that our government and parliament are obliged to take measures that will reduce the risk of an attack on Finland. Protection from the Russian threat is a priority," the Minister said on X.
On Thursday, the parliament also agreed to allow the export of anti-personnel mines under the usual procedures for controlling arms sales.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on June 11, the Finnish Foreign Ministry summoned russia's charge d'affaires ad interim over yesterday's suspected violation of the country's airspace. This is the second summons of a russian diplomat in a month - at the end of May, the russian ambassador was summoned for clarification in connection with the alleged violation of airspace by two russian military aircraft on May 23.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Finland previously stated that it was monitoring russia's maneuvers near the border and "preparing for the worst."
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