MOSCOW, July 14: Russia is freezing its participation in a key arms control treaty that limits the deployment of military forces in Europe, the Kremlin announced on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree halting Russia’s application of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) arms control treaty due to “exceptional circumstances ... broaching on the security of the Russian Federation,” the statement said.
Putin’s decree, signed on Friday, ordered the foreign ministry to immediately inform the other signatories of Russia’s decision, triggering the automatic suspension of Russia’s participation 150 days later.
The treaty, which came into force in 1992, is one of the key post-cold war security accords in Europe. It limits deployment of tanks and troops in countries belonging to the Nato and the former Warsaw Pact in eastern Europe and lays down measures aimed at confidence-building, transparency and cooperation between member states.
Russia has threatened several times to pull out of the treaty amid unease over US military encroachment into territory once part of the former Soviet Union, including Washington’s plans to develop a missile defence shield in Europe.
The foreign ministry said the “difficult” decision was taken only after careful analysis and repeated appeals to Russia’s western partners about the “outdated” treaty.
“So far we have not seen any constructive response to our legitimate concerns,” the statement said. It said, however, that the decision “does not mean that we have closed the door on dialogue.”
The Nato, Russia’s partner in the treaty, on Saturday described the decision as “a disappointing move, a step backwards”. “Nato considers this treaty to be an important foundation of European security and stability,” Nato spokesman James Appathurai said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on a visit to Nida, in Lithuania, also expressed his “great concern”.
Three months ago, Putin threatened to pull Russia out of the CFE until all of Nato’s current members ratified a version agreed in 1999 to take into account the collapse of the Warsaw Pact.
The CFE was signed in Paris in 1990 by the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and the former Warsaw Pact. But it was adapted in Istanbul in 1999 in order to limit deployments on a country-by-country basis.
The Nato states have refused to ratify the new pact on the grounds that Moscow has failed to honour commitments.—AFP
