MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. The Russian Federation Council at a plenary session on Wednesday approved a bill on Russia's withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
The bill was submitted to the State Duma by Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10. Lawmakers denounced the treaty at a plenary session on May 16.
According to the bill's explanatory notes, in conditions when NATO countries not only do not seek to strengthen European security, but are also building up NATO forces and military potential in an unprecedented manner, "the Russian Federation is forced to take all the necessary measures to protect its national security and interests."
The CFE Treaty, which entered into force on November 9, 1992, was aimed at strengthening European security by creating a system of quantitative restrictions on five major categories of conventional weapons of the treaty member states (battle tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, attack helicopters and combat aircraft).
According to Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, by denouncing the CFE Treaty, Russia is removing a document that’s out of touch with reality from the agenda but is not putting an end to the issue of dialogue on conventional arms control, which has to be equal this time. It must also include new types of weapons, such as drones and other systems that have appeared since 1990.
About CFE Treaty
The CFE Treaty was signed in 1990 and adapted in 1997. However, NATO countries did not ratify the adapted version of the document and have continued to adhere to the 1990 provisions, based on the conventional arms balance between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. As a result, Russia was compelled to declare a moratorium on implementing the terms of the treaty in 2007.
On March 11, 2015, Russia suspended its participation in meetings of the Joint Consultative Group on the CFE Treaty, completing the process of suspending its membership in the CFE while remaining a purely de jure party to the treaty. Since then, Belarus has represented Russia’s interests in the Joint Consultative Group.