Published: 14:23, July 11, 2025
Finland notifies UN of withdrawal from landmine ban treaty
By Reuters
People walk past a banner protesting against the will to withdrawal from the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention of Estonia, Latvia, Luthuania, Finland and Poland displayed on the "Broken Chair", a monumental wood sculpture installed in front of the Palace of Nations, which houses the United Nations offices in Geneva, on June 5, 2025. (PHOTO / AFP)

HELSINKI - Finland has notified the United Nations (UN) it is leaving the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines, its foreign ministry said late on Thursday.

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The withdrawal will take effect six months after the notification, in January 2026, the ministry said in a statement. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland - all NATO and EU members bordering Russia - have approved withdrawal from the treaty, citing the increased military danger from their neighbor.

Earlier in July, Reuters reported that Lithuania and Finland are set to start domestic production of anti-personnel landmines next year to supply themselves, according to officials from the two NATO member states.