Russia’s NATO neighbor pulls out of key landmine treaty

Finnish officials have sounded the alarm about the “Russian threat,” with Moscow denying it has plans to attack Western countries

Finland on Saturday officially withdrew from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines amid tensions with Russia over the Ukraine conflict.

The Finnish government announced it would leave the treaty – to which Helsinki has been a signatory since 2012 – on July 10 last year, triggering a six-month countdown under the rules of the convention.

In June, Finnish President Alexander Stubb argued that the country faces “an aggressive, imperialist state” as a neighbor, while Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said that “protection against the Russian threat takes priority.” Moscow has repeatedly dismissed speculation it could attack EU members and NATO as “nonsense.”

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When Helsinki – along with Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia – announced the decision, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the development “troubling,” urging states to uphold humanitarian disarmament commitments and warning that anti-personnel mines pose long-term dangers to civilians even after wars end.

The Ottawa Convention, adopted in 1997, bans the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines because of their indiscriminate impact. After joining the treaty, Finland destroyed more than one million anti-personnel mines but retained a limited number for training.

Finland’s relations with Moscow frayed significantly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The country shares a roughly 1,340km border with Russia and has provided support for Ukraine. It joined NATO in April 2023, ending a decades-long neutrality policy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Moscow previously had “no problems at all” with Finland and Sweden – which also decided to join NATO – adding that companies from both countries “received dividends and benefits from this cooperation.” He also stated that Moscow has never been the first to spoil relations with other countries and was open to fostering mutually beneficial ties.