The Finnish Parliament has supported the country's decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines, Ukrinform reports, citing Yle.
157 deputies voted for this decision, and 18 voted against. In addition, 24 people were absent during the vote.
The Foreign Affairs Committee supported the government's proposal to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, arguing that anti-personnel mines are a necessary defensive weapon for Finland in the face of the deteriorating security situation. Therefore, the country's Defense Forces will be allowed to use anti-personnel mines in the future.
The next steps to complete the withdrawal procedure are confirmation of the decision by President Alexander Stubb and official notification to the UN Secretary-General.
As is known, the Finnish government submitted a proposal to the parliament to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention on May 28, and the political decision to take this step was made in April - to counter risks from Russia.
As a reminder, in early June, the Estonian parliament passed a law on the country's withdrawal from the convention banning anti-personnel mines. In May, the Lithuanian Seimas also decided to denounce the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines.
The Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines entered into force in the spring of 1999. Ukraine signed the convention in December 1999, and in 2005 the document was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada.