MINSK. June 30 (Interfax) - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have jointly notified UN member states about their withdrawal from the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, by issuing respective statements of their foreign ministries.
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania submitted the withdrawal documents on June 27. Consistent with the convention, their withdrawal will take effect six months after the submission of the said document, the Latvian Foreign Ministry's press service said.
Regional security levels have drastically changed since the time the Baltic countries joined the convention, the press service said. The withdrawal will allow Latvia to be flexible in bolstering deterrence and protecting itself and its population, it said.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry said, for its part, that the Estonian Armed Forces needed to be flexible in strengthening national defense as the security situation in Europe worsens.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said the decision to withdraw from the convention was not easy for Lithuania.
Lithuania will do everything it takes to protect itself, its population and every inch of the NATO territory from threats by any effective military means available, he said. Lithuania's commitment to responsible defense and international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, remains unwavering, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry's press service quoted Budrys as saying.
As reported, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia approved documents on their withdrawal from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction adopted in Ottawa, Canada, on September 18, 1997. The parliaments of Poland and Finland also backed the decision to denounce the Ottawa Convention.