Lithuania is willing to allow the use of cluster munitions to improve its defence against Russia

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RIGA, 3 Jul. (DPA/EP) –

The Lithuanian government on Wednesday approved a plan to withdraw from the international convention banning the use of cluster munitions as a move to improve national defence against possible Russian threats.

The Ministry of Defence, which is behind the move, has stressed that the withdrawal from the agreement makes sense in a context where Lithuania’s national security and the threats facing the Baltic country have changed radically in recent years.

The bill must also be approved by the Lithuanian parliament, where the coalition government has a slim majority. In addition, the country’s president, Gitanas Nauseda, must ultimately approve the bill.

Lithuania shares about 230 kilometres of border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Another 680 kilometres separate it from Belarus, Russia’s main ally in a context in which Moscow has become increasingly isolated in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, the war in Ukraine has caused all the Baltic countries – which share a border with Russia to a greater or lesser extent – to strengthen their defence and security policies against possible threats from Moscow.

Most countries in the region have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which came into force in 2010 and has been ratified by more than 100 states, although others such as Russia, the United States and the Baltic States have remained on the sidelines.

The characteristics of these bombs, which break up into submunitions once launched, mean that they have an indiscriminate impact on the area where they are dropped, while also making them a long-term threat to civilians.

Lithuanian authorities believe that the country should be able to use such munitions, as they are a very effective means of defence and that Russia and Belarus would not hesitate to use them either.