Finland will withdraw from the international agreement banning antipersonnel mines, also known as the Ottawa Convention, and spend 3 percent of GDP on defense, the country’s President Alexander Stubb said Tuesday.
“Finland will prepare for the withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention,” he posted on X. “The decision is based on a thorough assessment by the relevant ministries and the Defence Forces. Finland is committed to its international obligations on the responsible use of mines,” he added.
The 1997 Ottawa Convention — also known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty — has come under increasing pressure because of the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, especially in countries neighboring Russia.
Last month, Poland and the three Baltic countries announced they would leave the international convention as well. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia.
Stubb also said Helsinki would spend 3 percent of GDP on defense by 2029, compared with 2.4 percent in 2024. That’s more than NATO’s current 2 percent target, which is widely expected to be raised during a June summit in The Hague.
“This is a part of Finland’s contribution to Europe taking greater responsibility for our own defence,” the Finnish president said.
Over the weekend, Stubb made a surprise, unofficial trip to Florida and talked with U.S. President Donald Trump about the war in Ukraine. Finland’s leader — who pitched himself to become Europe’s envoy for Ukraine and have a seat at the negotiating table between Russia and the U.S. — reportedly said after his visit that Europeans are starting to think about when and how to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The post Finland will exit global land mine treaty as Russia fears grow appeared first on Politico.
