Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda formally proposed on Monday that the parliament denounce the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The President’s Office said on Monday that Nausėda signed the respective decree intending to consolidate all possible means for national defence and bolster the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ capabilities.
“The accepted international legal restrictions [...] limit the defence capabilities and combat power of Lithuania and its allies operating on its territory, and reduce the effectiveness of deterrence,” it said in a press release.
Of the NATO member states sharing a border with Russia, only Lithuania and Norway are currently parties to the convention, the office noted.
The United States is not a party to the convention nor are other Lithuanian allies, such as Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Turkey.
The Lithuanian government last week approved a draft resolution proposing that Lithuania withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions and asked the president to submit the denunciation motion to the parliament.
The resolution was drafted by the Defence Ministry.
Lithuania joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2011.
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.
Further reading
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
