Finland joins several of its NATO neighbours in exiting landmine treaty

Copenhagen [Denmark], June 20: Finland is to follow several of its NATO neighbours and exit the Ottawa Treaty banning the use of anti-personnel landmines, following a vote in the Helsinki parliament on Thursday, state broadcaster Yle reported.
The measure was passed by 157 to eight votes and will go into force six months after formal Finnish notification to the UN.
Baltic republics Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have already taken similar decisions, as has Poland.
The Finnish government had announced the move in April following approval by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. The Finnish military takes the view that it needs landmines to defend the country. The Ottawa Treaty went into effect in March 1999, banning the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of landmines. Finland signed up in 2012. The United States, Russia, China, India and Pakistan have not signed. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune