President Gitanas Nauseda supports Lithuania’s withdrawal from the convention on cluster munitions.
“The president wants all possible means, including cluster munitions, to mobilize the country’s defense and strengthen the capabilities of the Lithuanian army. The president supports the denunciation of the Oslo Convention on Cluster Munitions, with Lithuania’s further actions to be coordinated with allies,” the presidential office told BNS on Monday.
The motion proposing to the Seimas to denounce the convention was registered by the Defense Ministry on Friday.
Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told journalists last week the motion would be submitted to ministers for approval at this week’s government meeting, and the president is expected to submit it to the Seimas on July 11.
Lithuania’s withdrawal from the convention is necessary due to a change in geopolitical circumstances following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kasciunas explained.
In September 2023, the Defense Ministry turned to members of the State Defense Council, proposing to discuss a possible withdrawal from the convention. However, the SDC decided not to consider the issue at that time.
The Defense Ministry maintains that cluster munitions are a highly effective means of defense and that Lithuania should be allowed to use them. In the event of an armed conflict against Lithuania, Russia and Belarus would undoubtedly use cluster munitions, which would give them a military advantage, the ministry pointed out.
It also stressed that the US and Lithuania’s other allies – Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Turkey – are not part of the treaty.
Lithuania joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2011. The agreement prohibits the use, production and acquisition of cluster munitions and sets out specific obligations to address the humanitarian consequences of these weapons.
In mid-July, the United States handed over these munitions, banned in many countries, to Ukraine as the country is defending itself against Russian aggression.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions was signed in Dublin in December 2008 and entered into force on August 1, 2010.
Source: BNS
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