The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania initiates the process of leaving the Ottavsky Convention on the ban on anti -personnel mines and offers to take a similar step to the rest of the Baltic Sea region.
This is the Minister of Defense of Lithuania Doville Shakalene in X, noting that this step is based on the official recommendation of the Lithuanian military.
The head of the department added that Lithuania would like to leave the Convention in interaction with other countries of the Baltic Sea region. “Consultations on this issue are already being conducted with the countries of the Baltic Sea region and will include discussions with allies … to achieve more effective results, efforts will be focused on strengthening this position by applying for cooperation to the allies,” Shakalen said.
According to her, the unified position of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland and Sweden will strengthen the deterrence and demonstrate a general approach to the principles of defense in the region.
The minister added that consultations will also be held with the main allies in NATO, including the United States and Germany. “The general decision on the Ottav Convention will send a clear and strong signal of both the internal and foreign audience,” said the head of the Lithuanian military department.
According to LRT, the discussion of Lithuania from the Convention will first be held in the State Defense Council in order to achieve a wide political consensus on this issue.
If this body approves the country’s exit from the Ottav Convention, the Ministry of Defense recommends that the President of Lithuania submit a proposal to the parliament on the denunciation of the Convention.