TALLINN. April 24 (Interfax) - The Estonian government on Thursday approved draft legislation to withdraw the country from the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction.
"In the current security situation, the Defense Forces need additional flexibility and freedom of choice with regard to weapons and decisions, taking into account the nature of threats and a potential adversary's conduct," an explanatory note to the bill said.
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland initiated the procedure for quitting the Ottawa convention along with Estonia, it said.
The president-signed law on Latvia's withdrawal from the Ottawa convention was published in the Latvian official state information bulletin earlier on Thursday.