Formin: Estonia ready to use all necessary means to defend its territory, freedom

TALLINN - Commenting on the Riigikogu's vote on Wednesday to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that Estonia’s withdrawal sends a clear message: the country is ready to use all necessary means to defend its territory and freedom.

"I welcome the Riigikogu’s decision to adopt the withdrawal law. Leaving the convention gives the Estonian defense forces greater flexibility and freedom to choose weapons systems and solutions needed to strengthen national defense. This significantly broadens the options for protecting Estonia’s security. I hope the president will promulgate the law soon," Tsahkna said.

The Ottawa Convention came into force in 1999, and Estonia joined it in 2004. According to the Foreign Minister, the security situation has worsened over the past 20 years, primarily due to Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, and therefore, withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention is the right step for Estonia.

"Russia poses a serious and long-term threat not only to Ukraine but to all of Europe. During its aggression against Ukraine, Russia -- which is not a party to the Ottawa Convention -- has widely used anti-personnel mines. Taking lessons from Russian aggression into account, it is clear that Estonia must not unilaterally restrict its armament options, as doing so would put us at a disadvantage," Tsahkna said.

The foreign minister emphasized that Estonia remains committed to upholding the goals and norms of international humanitarian law and is dedicated to minimizing the impact of hostilities on civilians and protecting victims of armed conflicts, including through support for humanitarian demining projects.

In addition to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland have also initiated the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention. Latvia and Lithuania’s parliaments have already passed the relevant laws, while discussions are forthcoming in the Finnish and Polish parliaments.

"With this decision to withdraw, NATO’s eastern flank countries send a clear message that they are ready and able to use all necessary measures against the aggressor to protect their territories and freedom. These decisions are not easy, but given the deteriorated security situation, all means to strengthen our deterrence and defense capabilities must be considered," Tsahkna said.

Withdrawal from the convention will take effect six months after the notification is submitted, provided the country is not involved in an armed conflict at that time.