Finland Abandons the International Landmine Treaty, Citing Security Concerns With Russia
Finland Abandons Landmine Agreement - President Cites Russia as Reason
In response to escalating tensions with Russia, Finland has decided to pull out from the Ottawa Convention, the international pact prohibiting the use of anti-personnel landmines. The Finnish parliament, in a vote on Thursday, agreed to withdraw from the treaty, with fear of an aggressive and imperialistic neighbor looming.
Finland's President, Alexander Stubb, stated, "Our unquestionable neighbor, Russia, is not a member of the Ottawa Treaty and employs landmines indiscriminately." The move follows other EU and NATO member states along Russia's border, such as Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, who have already withdrawn from the agreement. Poland is also set to follow suit.
The Finnish parliament also sanctioned the export of landmines under standard weapons sales control procedures on Thursday. However, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, expressed deep concern over announcements from several member states to withdraw from the landmine ban treaty. He urged all states to honor their commitments and not renounce them.
Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen defended Finland's decision, stating, "We must lessen the risk of being attacked." In a conversation on the X platform, he explained the importance of reducing threats.
The Ottawa Convention, initiated in 1997 as part of global disarmament efforts post-Cold War, has yet to be ratified by Russia. Instead, Russia has continued to use landmines in their war in Ukraine.
(Report by Anne Kauranen, edited by Thomas Seythal)
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Enrichment Data
Finland's Parliament voted overwhelmingly on June 19, 2025, to exit the Ottawa Convention, an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, primarily due to escalating security concerns with Russia's aggressive military posture and the heightened risk of potential Russian aggression along Finland's borders. Finland originally signed the treaty in 2012 but reassessed its commitment following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which introduced a dramatically changed security environment alongside Finland’s 1340-kilometer border with Russia [2][4].
Russia has never ratified the Ottawa Convention and continues to be a significant user of anti-personnel mines, as evident in its military operations in Ukraine [2][4]. This decision aligns Finland with its Baltic neighbors, who had already announced their treaty withdrawals earlier in 2025 [2]. In contrast, the Ottawa Convention's objectives aim to ban the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines and mandates their destruction.
- The Finnish Parliament's decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, is part of a broader context of politics and general news involving war-and-conflicts, as Finland cites escalating tensions with Russia as one of the main reasons for this action.
- Despite the UN Secretary-General's concern over announcements from several member states to withdraw from the landmine ban treaty, other European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states, such as Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and possibly others, have elected to abandon the treaty due to security concerns and the perceived threat posed by Russia.
