Finland has officially submitted its intention to withdraw from the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement on Thursday, July 10.
The withdrawal will take effect from January 2026, the statement said, News.Az reports, citing Finnish media.
Finland signed the treaty — which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines — in 2012, but the government began preparations to withdraw earlier this year, citing increased security concerns.
This followed similar moves by countries such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
The government’s proposal was then ratified by parliament in June, with MPs voting by 157 to 18 in favour of withdrawing from the treaty.
Although Finland will no longer be a signatory to the agreement, the foreign ministry press release noted that Finland “will continue its support for the humanitarian goals of the Convention”.
“The decision to withdraw from the Convention is based on Finland’s defence needs in the deteriorated security environment. The withdrawal from the Convention will enable Finland to reintroduce anti-personnel mines to the range of its available means of defence,” the statement said.
When Finnish President Alexander Stubb confirmed Finland’s withdrawal from the treaty last Friday, he noted that he understood the criticism of the decision.
“Finland is not facing an immediate military threat, but the changes in the operating environment require that we strengthen our defence. We have a long border with Russia, which is not a party to the Ottawa Agreement. We have seen how Russia wages war today,” he said.