Putin readies to denounce Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin started preparations for the denunciation of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), a decree published on the official portal of legal information said.

The document says that the president appointed his representative to discuss the issue in Upper and Lower Houses of the Russian parliament.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will represent Putin in the State Duma and the Federation Council.

On July 13, 2007, President Putin signed a decree suspending Russia's participation in the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe. It was assumed that the suspension would stay in effect until NATO countries could start implementing the document in good faith.

The CFE Treaty was signed in Paris in 1990. The updated version of the treaty was signed at the OSCE summit in Istanbul in 1999. Four countries ratified the updated version of the document — Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Signed on November 19, 1990 by 16 NATO states and six countries of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation (WTO), the CFE Treaty was aimed at establishing a secure military balance in Europe through the reduction of armaments of conventional armed forces. For each block, the maximum levels of weapons and equipment were set as follows:

20,000 tanks,

30,000 armoured combat vehicles,

20,000 artillery systems,

6,800 combat aircraft,

2,000 attack helicopters.

In February, the State Duma (the Russian Parliament) adopted a bill on Russia's decision to denounce the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of the Council of Europe.