The Lithuanian government approved on Wednesday a draft resolution proposing that the parliament denounce the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The Defence Ministry, which drafted the resolution, says that once Lithuania withdraws from the convention banning the controversial weapons, it will be able to acquire, stockpile, and, if necessary, use cluster munitions.
The idea to leave the convention was first floated last year when the US started supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine. This type of weapon has been banned in over 100 countries due to its excessive harm to civilian populations.
The Defence Ministry maintains, however, that cluster munitions are a highly effective means of defence and that Lithuania should be allowed to use them.
The legislative proposal has yet to be approved by the parliament and President Gitanas Nausėda.
The president has told BNS recently that he supports Lithuania’s withdrawal from the convention.
The ministry says that in the event of an armed conflict against Lithuania, Russia and Belarus would undoubtedly use cluster munitions, which would give them a military advantage.
It says Lithuania will also be able to train troops to use cluster munitions alone or together with allies.
The ministry also argued that a number of Lithuania’s allies – the US, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Turkey – are not part of the treaty. However, most European countries, as well as NATO member Canada, are signatories of the convention.
“Even if our allies wanted to use this tool on our territory, they would not be able to do so, not even to transport it through Lithuania,” Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas told the cabinet on Wednesday.
“This completely unbalances the entire Eastern flank and undoubtedly needs to be dealt with,” he said.
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.
A cluster munition is an air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that ejects smaller submunitions.
In mid-July 2023, the United States supplied these widely banned munitions to Ukraine, which 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.
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