NATO members Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia said Tuesday they are abandoning the 1997 Ottawa convention treaty outlawing the use of anti-personnel landmines (APL) amid the ongoing

NATO members Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to withdraw from the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel landmines due to the military threat from their neighbour Russia, the four countries said on Tuesday.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland cite the Russo-Ukranian War and Russian aggression in general as a valid reason to restart the production of anti-personnel landmines. Russia is not a signatory to the Ottawa Convention;