Poland intends to withdraw from the Convention on Anti -Present Mines: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation threatened the response
In the last comment, the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry Radoslav Sikorsky responded to the threats of Moscow, calling the reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova "Classic of Soviet diplomacy". Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared the intention of Poland to leave the agreement in early March.
"I will recommend Poland to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention and perhaps from the Dublin Convention; I talk about anti -personnel mines and cassette ammunition," he said. Later, the Ministers of Defense of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia made a joint statement on the need to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, production and accumulation of anti -personnel mines. This was announced on March 18, 2025.
The document emphasizes that since the ratification of the Ottawa Convention, the security situation in the region has changed dramatically. Military threats to NATO countries bordering Russia and Belarus have increased significantly, which requires a revision of defense strategy. "We are the Ministers of Defense of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - we unanimously recommend to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention.
This decision we send a clear signal: our countries are ready and can take all the necessary measures to protect our territory and freedom," the statement said. On this issue, the excellent national defense of Poland, Janusz Onyshkevich, also spoke. According to him, this decision is a "necessary and natural step", as this is how the asymmetry is leveled with the capabilities of the Russian side.
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova commented on the statement of the Ministers of Defense of Poland and the Baltic States about the possible withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, stressing that this step demonstrates the "free attitude" of these countries to international legal obligations.
On March 19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that the event is ready to abandon its international obligations at any time, if it is responsible for its interests. "We see how the West countries are ready to abandon international legal obligations any second-when they please, when they are profitable when it is useful for them," Zakharova said during a briefing.
At the same time, she added that Russia will take appropriate measures, including military and technical measures. In response, the head of Polish diplomacy wrote on social networks that Moscow is threatening Warsaw with a retribution for withdrawal from the Convention from the Anti -Present Mines, to which it does not belong. "The classic of Soviet diplomacy," he wrote on social networks. The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997 and came into force in 1999.
According to the document, the use, production, accumulation and transfer of anti -personnel mines are prohibited. The Convention also obliges the States Parties to destroy their reserves and exchanges territories. The main purpose of the agreement is to reduce the number of victims among civilians and promote humanitarian demining. Its participants are 164 states. However, major military states, including the US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Israel, have not joined this Agreement.