Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said March 18, 2025, that they intend to withdraw from a 1997 international agreement banning antipersonnel land mines. Defense chiefs from the four countries said the move is needed to protect against potential Russian aggression. (Bryan Peterson/U.S. Marine Corps)
STUTTGART, Germany — Defense chiefs from all three Baltic states and Poland said Tuesday that their countries intend to withdraw from an international convention banning antipersonnel land mines, saying the move is needed to defend against potential Russian aggression.
In a joint statement, the defense leaders said security along NATO’s eastern flank has “fundamentally deteriorated” since their countries ratified the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.
“In light of this unstable security environment — marked by Russia’s aggression and its ongoing threat to the Euro-Atlantic community — it is essential to evaluate all measures to strengthen our deterrence and defense capabilities,” the statement said.
The anti-mine accord, also known as the Ottawa Convention, has been ratified by more than 150 countries.
Over the years, various nations, including most in western Europe, have been signatories to the agreement, which prohibits the production and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines.
Advocates for the convention cite the indiscriminate nature of the mines, which kill or injure thousands of civilians each year, often long after the wars they were used for have ended.
The United States has not ratified the pact and doesn’t manufacture or normally use antipersonnel mines, but successive administrations have argued that they are necessary to defend South Korea.
In the statement Tuesday, the four defense chiefs said their countries need more options to protect their territory.
“We believe that in the current security environment it is paramount to provide our defense forces flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster the defense of the Alliance’s vulnerable Eastern Flank,” the ministers said.
The Baltics have long been regarded by U.S. military leaders as a point of vulnerability for the alliance. In the event of a crisis, Moscow could seal them off from the rest of NATO by seizing the Suwalki Gap, a choke point that connects Poland to Lithuania, security analysts and military officials have said.
The ministers’ recommendation to withdraw from the treaty means Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are inching closer to incorporating land mines into NATO’s territorial defense plans.
“With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom,” the statement said.
“Despite withdrawing, we will remain committed to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians during armed conflict,” the ministers added.
