NATO members Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to withdraw from the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel landmines due to the military threat from their neighbour Russia, the four countries said on Tuesday.

Poland and the Baltic states on Tuesday took a first step towards quitting a treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing an increased security risk from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Lithuania earlier this month quit another treaty banning cluster bombs citing security concerns over the threat from Moscow,