The Ottawa Convention prohibits the production, possession, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. View on euronews

By Andrius Sytas and Barbara Erling VILNIUS/WARSAW (Reuters) -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,

In a joint statement, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said that since signing the Ottawa Treaty, threats from Moscow and its ally Belarus have "significantly increased". It is "paramount" to give their troops "flexibility and freedom of choice" to defend Nato's eastern flank, they said.