MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Moldova’s suspension of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) is an irrelevant step, as the basic treaty that was denounced by Russia last May, has lost any meaning, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council (the upper house of Russia’s parliament) Konstantin Kosachev told TASS.
"The step is totally irrelevant in terms of the current security situation. The basic CFE Treaty has lost any meaning at the very moment when NATO countries, unlike Russia and three other countries of the CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States, an assembly of post-Soviet republics - TASS), refused to ratify its adapted version. And since that moment, maintaining the treaty has lost any meaning, which was reflected in the decision of the Russian Federation to denounce the CFE Treaty in May 2023," the senator said.
The Moldovan government has decided to submit a draft resolution on the suspension of the CFE Treaty to parliament for approval. The CFE Treaty was signed in 1990 and adapted in 1997. The NATO countries have not ratified the adapted version of the document, continuing to adhere to the 1990 provisions, which sets caps on conventional weapons based on the balance of force that had existed between the alliance and the long-disbanded Warsaw Treaty Organization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 29, 2023 signed a law denouncing the CFE Treaty. This legal act entered into force on June 9. Moscow has repeatedly stated that the blame for the termination of the agreement will be placed squarely on the United States and its allies, which opted for the path of confrontation.