RIGA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Latvian government on Tuesday initiated the Baltic country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines, Prime Minister Evika Silina told a news conference after a cabinet meeting.

By the next government meeting on March 25, the Foreign Ministry will draft a bill necessary for Latvia's formal withdrawal from the convention. The bill will then be put to a parliament vote.

If the bill is approved by both the government and parliament, all other countries that have joined the convention, the UN secretary-general and the UN Security Council will be informed of Latvia's decision. The withdrawal will take effect six months after its official announcement.

The defense ministers of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland have reached a regional agreement to recommend their respective countries' withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines, the Latvian Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The four countries' defense ministers said in a joint statement that they "unanimously" recommend withdrawing from the convention. "With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom."

However, the move has yet to be approved by the parliaments of the respective countries.

The Latvian Defense Ministry said that the decision has been taken considering recent changes in the region's security situation, Latvia's defense needs, consultations with allies, and in a show of solidarity and unity with other regional countries.

Poland's Ministry of National Defense said this is a joint recommendation from the defense ministries of the four countries to their respective governments, rather than a finalized decision.

"We believe that in the current security environment, it is paramount to provide our defense forces flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster the defense of the Alliance's vulnerable Eastern Flank," it said.

The Ottawa Convention was signed in 1997 and came into force in 1999. Enditem

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