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No chances for reviving CFE treaty — Lavrov

We have been urged to resume the so-called Conventional Armed Forces (CFE) treaty implementation, it's long-defunct and is not subject to reanimation, says Russia's Foreign Minister

MINSK, November 18. /TASS/. The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) cannot be revived, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at the joint session of collegiums of Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries.

“Today the United States and its allies have significantly advanced towards creating a global missile defense system. The situation in the sphere of control over conventional arms is not much better,” Lavrov said.

Russia has repeatedly called for “equal security based on the balance of interests,” Lavrov stressed.

“We have been urged to resume the so-called CFE treaty implementation,” Lavrov said. “It is long-defunct and is not subject to reanimation,” the minister added.

The CFE treaty was signed in 1990 by 22 states (the then-16 NATO members and then-six Warsaw Treaty states), and entered into force in 1992.

Russia announced a unilateral moratorium on the CFE treaty in December 2007 amid concerns over NATO’s eastward expansion and the US-planned Europe-based missile defense system.

Moscow is not planning to simply observe negative tendencies undermining the strategic stability in the Euro-Atlantic region, Russian Foreign Minister said.

Lavrov attended a joint session of collegiums of Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries, during which the sides discussed the US plans to create a global missile defense system, including its European component, and also conventional arms in Europe.

“Here we will not simply observe the negative tendencies which undermine the strategic stability in the Euro-Atlantic, and we will be consistently without confrontation work with Western partners to search for solutions which reflect the balance of interests of all the countries of our important region,” Lavrov said.