Finland’s government on Tuesday, April 1st, announced plans to begin withdrawing from the 1997 Ottawa Treaty which bans the use, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated that the “fundamentally changed security environment in Europe” prompted the decision and emphasized the need to boost national defense, particularly as Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia.
“We propose that Finland starts to prepare for withdrawal from the Ottawa agreement,” Orpo said. Finland’s parliament must approve the move, which would come into effect six months after ratification.
The move aligns Finland with four other NATO members—Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—that have also signaled their intent to quit the treaty due to growing security concerns from Russia and Belarus. Finnish researcher Iro Sarkka noted that “NATO’s frontline countries are converging in terms of their defence policy in relation to Russia.”
However, former Finnish President Tarja Halonen, who originally led Finland’s accession to the treaty in 2012, urged caution. “It is quite clear that the security situation has changed,” she said, but questioned the urgency of the government’s decision. “Why did the government need a citizens’ initiative to raise this issue?” Halonen asked, pointing out that as recently as 2023, Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs found no defense policy reason to withdraw.
Meanwhile, similar debates are emerging in the United Kingdom. Although the UK remains committed to the treaty, prominent figures like former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Lord Robathan have called for a review. “This convention does nothing for them or for peace. It takes away one line of defence from our own soldiers,” Robathan argued.
