BUDAPEST, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Hungary is ready to sign the international treaty on banning the use of cluster bombs, Defense Minister Imre Szekeres said after meeting with his Austrian counterpart Norbert Darabos here on Tuesday, MTI news agency reported.

    Hungary welcomed the Austrian initiative to frame the treaty by late 2008 so as to ban these bombs which cause "excessive injuries," Szekeres was quoted as saying.

    Air-dropped cluster bombs are capable of ejecting 200-600 bomblets over an area the size of a football field and because they often go off long after military actions end, they pose serious danger to civilians, especially children.

    "The production, storage and use of cluster bombs pose a disproportionate threat to mankind," Szekeres said.

    Hungary has a limited amount of such bombs, belonging mainly to armaments used previously. "Destroying them will be a costly venture but we are prepared for action," Szekeres said.