Latvian portal of public initiatives Manabalss.lv began collecting signatures for the exit from the Ottavsky Convention.
The representative of the Atis Stankevich initiative wants Latvia to realistically appreciate its defense strategy and, especially in the current threatening circumstances, revised the expediency of its membership in the Ottavsky Convention. In his opinion, this would be an effective and justified step in ensuring the protection of Latvia.
According to Stankevich, the exit from the Convention will give the Latvian society the confidence that the border of Latvia will be protected in case of a possible attack.
Thus, the Latvian society gains a sense of security that in the event of an attack by a potential aggressor, the border of Latvia can be designated, the representative of the initiative said.
He said that in the event of a successful collection of signatures, he would initiate the initiative to the Sejm of the Latvian Republic to vote about the exit from the Ottavsky Convention.
The Convention on the Prohibition of the use, Storage, production and transfer of anti -personnel mines and their destruction (Ottavsky Convention) provides that the countries signing it are “not to use anti -personnel mines under any circumstances.” Latvia joined the Convention in 2005.