Poland to withdraw from treaty banning anti-personnel landmines
According to statements made by Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk, Poland’s exit from the Ottawa Convention will take effect on February 20. He said that “Poland is withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention on February 20 and, as a result, will be able to possess and produce anti-personnel mines.”
Tomczyk explained that the country’s ‘East Shield’ border defense initiative already includes preparations for mine deployment. He said Poland would be able to lay mines “on any border within 48 hours” if faced with what he described as a “real threat of war.”
The deputy minister also outlined a major expansion of domestic arms manufacturing, noting that the state owned BELMA facility in Bydgoszcz will increase production of anti tank mines by a factor of 25 as part of the broader military buildup.
Poland’s decision follows similar moves by other NATO members bordering Russia. Finland’s withdrawal from the same treaty took effect last week, while Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia completed their exits in late December. Those countries have justified their actions by citing what they view as a growing threat from Russia.
Moscow has condemned these steps, repeatedly rejecting claims that it intends to attack other countries as “nonsense” and describing them as fear based arguments used to justify rising military spending across Europe. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on Finland’s withdrawal, said Russia “reserves the right to respond to any hostile actions by taking adequate measures, including, if necessary, of a military-technical nature.”
The Ottawa Convention, adopted in 1997, prohibits the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of anti personnel landmines due to their indiscriminate nature and the long term danger they pose to civilians.
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