The Lithuanian Sejm on Thursday, on July 18, decided to dence the Convention on Cassette Munition prohibiting their use, reports Delfi.
After Lithuania exit from this international agreement, there are no more restrictions on the purchase, accumulation, and in the case of war and the use of cassette ammunition, follows from the message.
The exit from the Convention was supported by 103 members of the Sejm, one deputy voted against, four abstained.
One of the initiators of the issue, Minister of Defense Laurinas Kashnas, claims that the exit from the Convention prompted a change in the geopolitical situation.
“Such conventions are significant when all countries adhere to them. In this case, the problem is that the Russian Federation, which engages aggression against Ukraine and has imperialist ambitions, does not follow these rules,” said Kashunas at a meeting of the Sejm.
According to the minister, when Lithuania ratified this convention and joined it, there was another era, and now everything is much more complicated.
“Therefore, it would be very wrong if the state, preparing for its defense, immediately said what capacities it would not use for its defense,” the head of the department noted.
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Kashashunas also assured that modern cassette ammunition is much safer, the consequences that they cause can be controlled.
Discussions about the withdrawal of Lithuania from the Convention signed in Oslo prohibiting the use of cassette ammunition, arose last summer, the agency notes. The Ministry of Defense then called for the reassessment of the provisions of this international document for reasons of national security.
Lithuania ratified the Convention on Cassette Munitions in 2010.