ASTANA, November 21. /TASS/. Kazakhstan has halted its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, according to the decree signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, dated November 17, which has been published in the legal information system of regulatory acts of the republic.
"In accordance with subparagraph 1) of paragraph 2 of Article 30 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan 'On International Treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan,' I hereby decree: 1. To suspend the operation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe dated November 19, 1990," the decree states.
The agreement was signed in 1990, entered into force in 1992, and was amended in 1997. It limited the number of conventional weapons and equipment in five main categories — tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery, attack helicopters and combat aircraft — and introduced mechanisms for verifying compliance with obligations, including information exchange and inspections.
The North Atlantic Alliance did not ratify the amended version of this document, continuing to adhere to the provisions of 1990, which contained the norms of conventional weapons, considering the balance between NATO and the disbanded Warsaw Pact Organization. Russia could not accept such an approach.
In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law denouncing the CFE Treaty. Moscow has repeatedly said that the blame for the termination of the agreement lies with the United States and other NATO countries.