Finland’s parliament voted on Thursday in favour of withdrawing the country from the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines amid concerns over a military threat posed by neighbouring Russia.
Finland joins other European Union and NATO members bordering Russia – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland – in exiting or planning to exit the treaty, as fears grow about their much larger neighbour.
President Alexander Stubb, who leads Finland’s foreign and security policy, on Tuesday defended the move.
“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.
Russia has used landmines in its invasion of Ukraine.
The Finnish decision follows similar votes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where parliaments have already approved the withdrawal.
(Reuters)