Finland's President Alexander Stubb on Friday approved the country's withdrawal from a treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing a "deteriorated security situation" and a longer-term threat from Russia.
Finland's President Alexander Stubb on Friday approved the country's withdrawal from a treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing a "deteriorated security situation" and a longer-term threat from Russia.
Finnish lawmakers voted to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention in June but the decision needed to be signed by the president.
"Finland is not facing an immediate military threat, but the changes in the operating environment require that we strengthen our defence," Stubb said in a statement.
"We have a long border with Russia, which is not a party to the Ottawa Agreement. We have seen how Russia wages war today."
Finland's decision will come into effect six months after the country formally notifies the United Nations.
The Nordic country shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia.
Signatories to the Ottawa Convention are prohibited from using, stockpiling, producing, or transferring anti-personnel mines, and are required to destroy any remaining stockpiles.
Designed to be buried or hidden on the ground, the mines often mutilate victims, who are not immediately killed, with aid groups decrying their long-term impact on civilians.
Stubb said he understood the withdrawal would be criticized, adding that Finland was "committed to the responsible deployment of anti-personnel mines" and would not use them in peace time.
Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, as well as Poland, also plan to exit the treaty.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on states to "immediately halt any steps towards their withdrawal."
He said he was planning a global campaign "to uphold the norms of humanitarian disarmament, accelerate mine action as an enabler of human rights and sustainable development, and drive forward the vision of a mine-free world."
