Former conservative Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called for Poland to leave the Ottawa Treaty on landmines “because the conflict in Ukraine has proven how important mines are in stopping aggressors moving through invaded territory.”
He made the remarks during a visit to the Polish-Belarusian border.
Morawiecki noted that it was the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government that had fortified the border and that it was now time to take the next step and make the eastern border even stronger.
“To achieve real fortifications, mined sections along the border are needed so that the aggressor knows about it,” said Morawiecki. To do that, Poland would have to leave a treaty that forbids the use of minefields, as this hampers its ability to strengthen its border defenses.
In a later interview with the independent TV channel, TV Republika, Morawiecki observed that the Russians had successfully stopped the Ukrainian counteroffensive with the use of minefields, which rendered tank attacks and speedy progress by infantry extremely difficult.
PiS is to submit a parliamentary resolution calling for Poland to leave the Ottawa Treaty, which was signed in 1997 and ratified by Poland in 2012. The problem is that the convention has not been ratified by Russia, China, the USA, and Israel, all countries that actually have been engaged in wars.
According to PiS MP Michał Dworczyk, the Baltic states are also considering such a move. “Mines are a cost-effective and effective weapon that Poland can produce itself,” said the MP.
