Poland and the Baltic states have said they are planning to leave the Ottawa Convention, dealing a blow to the international treaty banning antipersonnel land mines.

But the ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia argue that the security situation along NATO’s eastern flank has “fundamentally deteriorated” since they signed on to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, and that “military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased.”

Military threats to NATO member states bordering Russia and Belarus have significantly increased," the four nations argue in a statemement.