Poland, Baltic states back away from land mine treaty

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the defense ministers of the Baltic States and Poland recommended withdrawing from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, amid a deteriorating security situation in the region bordering Russia and Belarus.

"It is essential to evaluate all measures to strengthen our deterrence and defense capabilities," read the statement. "We believe that in the current security environment, it is paramount to provide our defense forces flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster the defense of the alliance's vulnerable eastern flank."

The 1999 Ottawa treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines, which are designed for use against humans and which typically detonate when stepped on. The relatively cost-effective mines have been widely used in Russia's war against Ukraine and other conflicts, but they kill indiscriminately and could endanger civilian populations if not removed from the ground after conflicts have ended.

More than 160 countries have ratified the treaty in the last quarter century. According to Handicap International, one of the founding members of the international campaign to ban land mines, today only about 12 countries are considered active or potential producers of antipersonnel mines. Before the treaty came into effect, there were about 50.

More than 55 million antipersonnel mines have been officially destroyed from stockpiles worldwide in the last 25 yeas. The mine ban has also dramatically reduced the number of land mine victims, dropping from more than 20,000 victims annually to under 5,000.

However, major military powers like the US, China and Russia have not ratified the treaty, with the latter posing a danger for NATO's eastern flank. By leaving the treaty, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all top defense spenders in NATO by GDP — now have the option of using the banned mines on their defense line.

None of the countries have publicly indicated that they plan to start buying, creating or using the weapons just yet. In the statement, the countries said they would remain committed to humanitarian law, including protecting civilians during armed conflict.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told DW that the move was just about creating options. He also expects Finland to join the initiative, as it also shares a long border with Russia.

"Russia does not choose the means in this brutal war which it is fighting, Russia is breaking all possible conventions, to which they themselves have also joined," said Tsahkna. "When we look at what Russia can organize, we must first and foremost look at how we can defend our country, NATO and the EU, and Estonia will certainly do all this very responsibly."

Land mines just one part of defense plan

Maris Andzans, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies in Riga, said the decision is a controversial one but logical when done as a group, which gives ground to build a united defense line against Russia and its proxy, Belarus.

"You need a complex set of measures for the defense line, this just one detail," said Andzans. "But this sends a strong signal, because it will be noticed by many and underlines that the Baltic states and Poland are very concerned, and they are ready to go beyond the current measures."

He added that the four countries still need to stockpile actual munitions to withstand a possible attack.

Tomasz Grzywaczewski, an expert at the Warsaw Institute, a geopolitical think tank in Poland, told DW that even though the Ottawa treaty had been effective, it may no longer be viable with the rising threat posed by Russia.

"We learned from war in Ukraine that even though it's extremely cruel weapon, it still it can be used to protect your sovereignty effectively against aggression," said Grzywaczewski. "It is clearly visible in Ukraine, of course they were also deployed by Russians."

In his view, it would be politically very risky to declare that land mines are going to be deployed on the border. "For instance, Poland could be easily attacked, even by Russian propaganda, claiming the Polish government wants to kill innocent migrants," he said.

Nevertheless, he expects mines to be deployed in some capacity.

'Lasting security cannot be built on weapons that kill indiscriminately'

Both Grzywaczewski and Andzans said the four countries' choice to bring back land mines was a blow to the treaty, as it could inspire others to follow suit. "That doesn't mean the end of the treaty itself, but reality is what it is," said Andzans. "And again, the reason is that Russia is not adhering to any principles, any rules of war."

Eva Maria Fischer, the head of advocacy at Handicap International Germany, said the decision by the Eastern European countries is a worrying and dangerous threat to a live-saving convention.

"We acknowledge that in the current unstable international context, security concerns of Eastern European states may be justified, but lasting security cannot be built on weapons that kill indiscriminately, remain in the ground long after conflicts have ended and continue to maim civilians and destroy livelihoods," Fischer told DW.

According to Fischer, many studies endorsed by military experts have shown the limited military value of antipersonnel mines.

"There are alternatives to defend a nation. These may appear more expensive — but not when you calculate the enormous followup costs of the use of antipersonnel mines," she said.

Responding to the criticism, Estonian Foreign Minister Tsahkna said there is no plan to deploy mines yet, and the dangers are purely theoretical. "Yes, we understand all this very well. Estonia has contributed and is contributing a lot to support these organizations, in the same way as we ourselves are helping Ukraine with this problem, we will do our best to help it with our teams and our technology," he said.

Edited by: Jess Smee