MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. It was Western states who undermined the basis for cooperation on arms control in Europe with its disregard for international law, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the outcome of Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov’s participation in the conference on Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).

"The Russian side emphasized the reasons that made its further participation in the treaty impossible and that forced it to withdraw from the CFE in accordance with Article XIX clause 2. [The Russian side] underscored the irreversible nature of this decision, enshrined in a federal law. It was noted that it was the West in particular that, by its disregard to international law and its own obligations, undermined the once-constructive basis for cooperation in control over conventional arms in Europe," the Ministry said.