Since Russia, our neighbor, started to invade our other neighbors, Poland was not able to stay in the Ottawa Convention – said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski. Minefields are an effective way to slow down or even exclude the enemy from certain places, he added.
On Friday, Poland formally withdrew from the Ottawa Convention banning the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked at Friday's press conference whether Poland's withdrawal from this convention had been consulted with its allies, and whether this action meant the resumption of mine production.
Sikorski emphasized that “Russia did not join the Ottawa Convention and Russia invaded Ukraine.” – Since our neighbor started to invade our other neighbors, we were not able to maintain this Convention and the Polish Army must have this instrument to defend Poland against a country that threatens us, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He added that “sometimes minefields, whether anti-tank or anti-personnel, are an effective way to slow down or even exclude the enemy from certain places.”
The Polish government announced its intention to leave the Ottawa Convention at the beginning of 2025, and in July last year. the act on terminating the convention was signed by then president Andrzej Duda.
On Wednesday, the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said that he expects Polish arms companies to “build the potential created for anti-personnel mines, produce them in Poland and meet the needs of the Polish army.” He also assured that Poland has no intention of using mines, only the intention of defense and readiness if – as he said – “someone would go crazy and want to test our capabilities in this dimension.”
The Ottawa Convention was written in 1997 during a diplomatic conference on a total ban on the use of anti-personnel mines. It entered into force in 1999. It has been ratified by over 160 countries, except, among others, the USA, China or Russia, which uses them in the invasion of Ukraine.
As part of the so-called Solidarity Regional Agreement, apart from Poland, the treaty was also denounced by other countries of NATO's eastern flank in 2025 – Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. At the end of June last year, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, also signed a decree to withdraw from the convention. Lithuania and Finland have also declared a return to the production of anti-personnel mines and support for Ukraine.
On Friday, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also asked about the issue of the EU SAFE program and the fact that some EU countries, including Germany, did not join it. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Germany does not need to use this loan instrument due to the fact that it has very good ratings and, consequently, the conditions for taking out loans.
– However, they can take part in some purchasing programs – said Sikorski, emphasizing that Berlin is, among others, interested in purchasing Polish Piorun short-range anti-aircraft systems.
When asked about German purchases of American equipment, Sikorski emphasized that European NATO countries – including Poland, which buys Abrams tanks, F-35 planes and Apache helicopters – constantly buy equipment from the USA, financing it from their national budgets. – PLN 44 billion under SAFE is only a drop in the ocean of what allied countries spend from their own budgets (…) The fact that someone buys American equipment from their budget has nothing to do with the SAFE instrument – he emphasized.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also commented on the accusation that taking out a loan in euro involves exchange rate risk. As he emphasized, the act implementing SAFE, which is in parliamentary work, contains a mechanism for insurance against this risk, but, as he emphasized, exchange rate risk should not be demonized. – The exchange rate can go up, but also down, and I believe in the Polish economy – he said, pointing out that with further rapid growth of Polish GDP, the euro exchange rate may fall, which will make SAFE loans cheaper.
The act adopted on Thursday with amendments by the Senate assumes the creation of a Financial Instrument for Enhancing Security (FIZB) managed by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, through which the government will be able to use money from SAFE. Due to the amendments submitted by the Senate, the bill will return to the Senate.
Under the EU SAFE program, the Polish government will be able to use approximately EUR 43.7 billion in loans with favorable interest rates and spend them on defense investments. According to the government's declaration, over 80 percent the money is to be spent in the Polish arms industry. (PAP)
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