Estonia not to sign cluster bomb treaty

Dec 04, 2008
TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS

TALLINN - The Estonian Defense Ministry has announced that the country will not sign the highly publicized treaty on the abolishment of cluster bombs.

Representatives of about 100 countries gathered in Norway to sign the treaty. Estonian officials said that the country would not become a signatory, however, because of the cost involved in destroying and replacing weapons stockpiles.

Defense Ministry spokesman Peeter Kuimet said that Estonia was in principle in favor of the limitation of armaments, particularly armament systems that could potentially cause excessive humanitarian damage.

"We are therefore contributing to the process of the limitation of cluster ammunition," he said.

A full ban on cluster munitions in Estonia would mean destruction of the stockpiles and their replacement with some other weapon or a considerably more expensive weapons system, which Estonia would not be able to afford.

The major producers of cluster ammunition are China, Russia and the United States -- three countries that have declared their non-intention of acceding to the convention.

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