Poland and the Baltic states have said they are planning to leave the Ottawa Convention, dealing a blow to the international treaty banning antipersonnel land mines.In a joint statement on Tuesday, the defense ministers of the Baltic States and Poland recommended withdrawing from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty,

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland cite the Russo-Ukranian War and Russian aggression in general as a valid reason to restart the production of anti-personnel landmines. Russia is not a signatory to the Ottawa Convention;

In a joint statement, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said that since signing the Ottawa Treaty, threats from Moscow and its ally Belarus have "significantly increased". It is "paramount" to give their troops "flexibility and freedom of choice" to defend Nato's eastern flank, they said.