On July 18, the Lithuanian Seimas decided to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Babel informs.
This was reported by the LRT edition.
The initiator of the refusal was the Minister of National Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas. He said that Lithuania ratified the agreement in a “different era”: “Such conventions are important when all countries adhere to them. The problem is that Russia, which is carrying out aggression against Ukraine and has imperialistic ambitions, does not follow the rules”.
In addition, Agriculture Minister Giedrius Surplys said that his country was “more naive than Russia’s other neighbors who did not sign the convention”. No other neighboring country of Russia has signed the agreement, except Lithuania.
Following the parliamentary decision, the Defense Minister promises to propose to his colleagues in the region (Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland) to consider joint purchases of these munitions.
In September 2023, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense proposed to consider withdrawing from the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In early July, the government approved a draft resolution and asked the president to submit the proposal to parliament. Subsequently, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda signed the relevant decree.
