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Russia is ready to discuss new regime for conventional arms control in Europe

Moscow notes that "the issues of conventional arms control in Europe remain relevant, especially considering the deterioration in the European security situation over the past year."

UNITED NATIONS, August 18. /TASS/. Moscow has officially informed the United Nations that it is ready to discuss with partners the ways of developing a new regime for conventional arms control in Europe.

The new regime should take into consideration current realities and address the concerns of Russia and those of other European states, says the letter that Moscow has sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe lost its "relevance and value" and ceased to be a "cornerstone of European security" long ago, as it is hopelessly out of date," the letter reads.

Moscow’s position is included in a report of the UN chief published on Monday in regard to the implementation of the General Assembly resolution 69/47 on the control over conventional weapons at the regional and subregional levels.

In the letter, dated April 21, 2015, the Russian side notes that "the issues of conventional arms control in Europe remain relevant, especially considering the deterioration in the European security situation over the past year."

Ukraine says it is "a long-term responsible participant of such pan-European and complimentary bilateral confidence-building mechanisms relevant to conventional arms control as the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe" but it cannot fulfill some provisions of the treaty for reasons of national security. It blames Russia for the emergence of these reasons.

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 defence system.