Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Friday that Poland could no longer remain in the treaty after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Since our neighbor began invading our other neighbors, we cannot be able to stay in this convention,” he told a press conference.
“The Polish Armed Forces must have this instrument to defend Poland against a country that threatens us," he said.
Sikorski said that minefields, whether anti-tank or anti-personnel, can be an effective way to slow down or block an enemy from certain areas.
The Ottawa Convention, signed in 1997 and in force since 1999, prohibits the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel mines.
More than 160 countries have ratified it, though the United States, China, and Russia have not.
Russia has used such mines in its invasion of Ukraine, and elsewhere.
The Polish government announced its intention to leave the treaty at the start of 2025. The law terminating Poland’s participation was signed in July last year by then President Andrzej Duda.
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Wednesday that he expects Polish defense companies to build up capacity to produce anti-personnel mines domestically and secure supplies for the army.
He stressed that Poland has no intention of using mines offensively, but wants to ensure readiness “if someone were to test our capabilities.”
Other NATO countries on the alliance’s eastern flank have taken similar steps.
In 2025, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia also withdrew from the treaty under what Polish officials described as a regional solidarity agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree last June to pull Ukraine out of the convention.
Lithuania and Finland have declared plans to resume production of anti-personnel mines and to support Ukraine.
Sikorski also addressed questions about SAFE, a new European Union loan instrument designed to boost defense investment.
He said Germany has not joined the borrowing scheme because it can secure favorable financing on its own due to its strong credit rating.
He added that Berlin may still take part in joint procurement projects and is interested in purchasing Poland’s short-range Piorun air defense systems.
Under SAFE, Poland will be able to access around EUR 43.7 billion in low-interest loans for defense investments.
According to the government, more than 80 percent of the funds are expected to be spent in Poland’s domestic arms industry.
Sikorski said European NATO members, including Poland, which is buying Abrams tanks, F-35 fighter jets, and Apache helicopters, regularly acquire American arms using their own national budgets.
He argued that the EUR 44 billion available under the SAFE program is a small fraction of what allied countries already spend independently.
Buying US equipment with national funds, he said, has no direct connection to the SAFE instrument.
He also addressed concerns that taking out loans in euros carries exchange rate risk. He noted that the draft law implementing SAFE, now under parliamentary review, includes a mechanism to hedge against currency fluctuations.
He added that exchange rate risk should not be overstated.
“The rate can go up, but it can also go down, and I believe in the Polish economy,” he said, pointing out that continued strong GDP growth could lead to a weaker euro against the złoty, making SAFE loans less expensive.
The Polish parliament has been working on legislation to implement the program.
The bill, adopted with amendments by the Senate on Thursday, provides for the creation of a Financial Instrument for Increased Security managed by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, the state development bank.
The law will return to the lower house for further consideration of the amendments.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP