Finland leaves the landmine contract and increases defense expenditure due to Russia
Finland leaves the landmine contract and increases defense expenditure due to Russia
Helsinki, Finland-NATO membership Finlands Plant from a global contract to withdraw through the ban on anti-person mines and to increase defense expenditure to at least 3% of GDP by 2029. This was confirmed by the government on Tuesday in response to the changing military threat from Russia.
retreat from the Ottawa contract
Poland and the Baltic States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania announced last month that they would withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa Treaty due to the threats from Russia. Due to the exit from the contract, Finland, which ensures the longest border with Russia within NATO, could start storing land mines again in order to be equipped accordingly in an emergency
long -term safety threat by Russia
At a press conference,Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that there is currently no immediate military threat to his Nordic country, but Russia is a long -term danger to all of Europe. "The withdrawal from the Ottawa Agreement will give us the opportunity to prepare us more flexibly for the changes in the security environment," says Orpo.
increase in defense spending
In addition, Finland will provide 3 billion euros (around 3.24 billion US dollars) for defense, which will increase the level of defense expenditure from 2.41% in 2024 to 3% of gross domestic product by 2029. President Alexander Stubb expressed X: "This is part of Finland's contribution so that Europe assumes greater responsibility for our own defense."reactions to the Ukraine conflict
These announcements are made against the background that US President Donald Trump is increasingly urging the war in Ukraine. This has triggered growing concerns in Poland and the Baltic States that Russia is reorganizing themselves and instead they could target them. Finland joined the NATO military alliance in 2023, taking a turn of decades of neutrality, triggered by the Russian invasion in Ukraine, which was answered by Russia with threats of "countermeasures".
considerations for withdrawal
Last November,Finland began to consider the withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty after the military commander had found that the topic was to be discussed in the face of Russia's use of such weapons in Ukraine. "Finland will use mines responsibly, but it is a deterrent that we need," said the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Sari Essayah, to the media on Tuesday.
The dangers of anti-personnel mines
Anti-personnel mines are designed in such a way that they are hidden in the ground and automatically detonate when someone steps over it or is near them. Finland destroyed over 1 million country mines after 2012 and was not signed the last EU country to sign the Ottawa Treaty, which was ratified by more than 160 countries, but not by Russia. The contract adopted in 1997 was part of a number of international agreements that were set for global disarmament after the end of the Cold War. The campaigns for a ban on land mines were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year.
political support for the retreat
The leaving of the contract will require the approval of the Finnish parliamentary, but is expected to be assumed, since there is broad support for both the government and the opposition parties.