21.   In exchange, Ukraine promised to join an international convention banning the mines.

22.   In the past, attempts to ban mines have resulted in dissent or confusion.

23.   Last September, three weeks of negotiations in Oslo resulted in a treaty banning anti-personnel mines.

24.   Negotiations on a treaty to ban anti-personnel mines were postponed for a day Tuesday after the United States requested more time to reach a compromise it could accept.

25.   Still, diplomatic efforts to ban mines have made little progress because military leaders have been reluctant to abandon them.

26.   Thailand signed the Ottawa treaty banning anti-personnel mines in December last year.

27.   The three-day conference here will focus on a proposal drafted by the Austrian Foreign Ministry to ban anti-personnel mines.

28.   They said the idea is to ban the mines for humanitarian reasons, with no exceptions, since most victims are civilians.

29.   They are intransigent and uncaring in the face of compelling humanitarian, economic and environmental evidence that anti-personnel mines should be banned.

30.   Three weeks of negotiations in Oslo in September resulted in a treaty banning anti-personnel mines.