The European Union has taken note of the intention of several member states, including most recently Finland, to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention.

It prohibits anti-personnel landmines, European Commission foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said on Monday.

“We note the statements made by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and more recently Finland about their plans to withdraw from the (Ottawa) convention,’’ Mr El Anouni said during a midday briefing.

The Ottawa Convention, also known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and provides for their destruction.

It was signed in the Canadian capital of Ottawa in 1997 and went into effect in 1999.

A total of 163 countries have acceded to the convention.

On March 1, the defence ministers of Poland and the Baltic States announced their decision to withdraw from the convention and recommended that their countries’ leaders finalise that decision.

On April 1, the Finnish government said Helsinki had also begun preparations to withdraw from the treaty. 

(RIA/NAN)