Estonian defense ministry agrees to discussion on anti-personnel landmines
Next week, the Riigikogu's National Defense Committee will begin discussing the potential introduction of anti-personnel mines, which would mean Estonia leaving the Ottawa Convention. The move has been prompted by the U.S.' decision to provide Ukraine with anti-personnel mines. The Estonian Ministry of Defense is awaiting the advice of the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) Chief of Staff.
The Estonian Defense Forces are currently armed with mines that are manually operated. In the war in Ukraine, soldiers operating mines are threatened by the presence of drones, so the time has come to use self-detonating mines, said EKRE MP and member of the Riigikogu's National Defense Committee Leo Kunnas. The types of mines in question also have electronic self-destruct mechanisms, Kunnas explained.
More than 164 countries are party to the Ottawa Convention.
"The argument has been used that some allies would not come to our military aid (if Estonia were to use anti-personnel landmines – ed. ). To that I would reply that the Russian side would certainly use anti-personnel mines. In such a case, it would really be time to correct those allies that are having problems to improve their training and practice fighting in mine warfare conditions," Kunnas said.
The Estonian Ministry of Defense formulated its position on the Ottawa Convention two years ago. In a statement at the time, the ministry said it did not support Estonia's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, because it was neither demanded by the head of the EDF nor necessitated by the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, according to the head of the ministry's international relations.
Now, however, the situation has changed, the Ministry of Defense said.
"Should we receive a very clear recommendation from the Chief of the Defense Staff to consider the introduction of new mine types that could be compatible with the Ottawa Convention, we will certainly discuss and analyze that with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our allies," said Peeter Kuimet, head of the International Cooperation Department at the Estonian Ministry of Defense.
The Chief of Defense Staff explained that if modern technological means would bring the desired effect to the battlefield and enable this to be achieved without posing a lasting increased threat to the population, the EDF is ready to analyze their potential deployment.
If Estonia does decide to introduce anti-personnel landmines, which are prohibited by the Ottawa Convention, it will have to start producing them itself, as the U.S. is the only Western country that currently produces them, Kunnas said. Estonia joined the Ottawa Convention 20 years ago.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Michael Cole
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
