Finland plans withdrawal from Landmine Treaty

Finland intends to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel mines. This decision follows similar actions by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, who terminated their participation in the agreement in March 2025. According to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, abandoning the 1997 Ottawa Treaty will enable Finland to accumulate anti-personnel mines, thereby ‘preparing for changes in the security environment in a more versatile way.’ Prime Minister Orpo also declared the government’s intention to augment the nation’s defense expenditure to a minimum of three percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by the year 2029. This increase represents an approximate rise of €3 billion ($3.24 billion) in defense spending by the aforementioned date.