Lithuania: President Nauseda backs withdrawal from cluster bomb ban

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda supports Lithuania’s withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions so as to improve the country’s defence capabilities, BNS reports. The Defence Ministry has proposed the motion to the parliament, the Seimas. The ministry highlighted the need for cluster munitions in Lithuania’s defence strategy, noting that adversaries like Russia and Belarus would likely use them in conflict. Lithuania joined the treaty banning cluster bombs in 2011. Many of Lithuania’s NATO allies are not part of the treaty.