Lithuania should withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas stated, BNS reports. He expects the Defence Ministry and Foreign Ministry to resolve the issue. Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that the goal was to have a regional solution. Earlier, she said that military advice would be the key element in making a decision on the issue. Lithuania’s defence chief, General Raimundas Vaiksnoras, has said that withdrawing from the treaty would benefit the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP). Meanwhile, former defence minister, opposition MP Laurynas Kasciunas said that he would begin collecting signatures to a public petition for the parliament, the Seimas, to consider the issue if the Defence Ministry fails to take initiative before the beginning of the spring session of parliament. Withdrawing from the treaty requires a presidential motion and the support of at least 86 MPs.
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