△ Zelensky (Photo)
On June 29th, local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky signed a presidential decree to officially initiate the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention. The subsequent session of the Ukrainian Supreme Council will review this matter. Prior to this, several Eastern European countries had already suspended their obligations under the convention due to related security considerations. On June 27th, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia submitted documents to the United Nations announcing their withdrawal from the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention. According to the convention’s provisions, these three countries will formally withdraw six months later.
European media reports indicate that Finland and Poland have also initiated the process of withdrawing from this convention.
The Ottawa Mine Ban Convention came into effect in 1999, prohibiting the use, storage, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. (Reported by Dong Wei, CCTV)