Moscow views delayed ratification of adapted CFE as breach of Istanbul agreements

A delay in ratification of the Adapted Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe is a direct breach of the Istanbul agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov believes.

"Artificial excuses delay the ratification and coming into force of the Agreement on the CFE Treaty adaptation, the headstone of European security," he said, when speaking at the plenary session of the OSCE foreign ministers on Monday.

"If we do not take serious and urgent measures, a gap between the system of controlling weapons and the real military and political situation in Europe may become insurmountable," the minister emphasized.

He recalled that the adaptation of the CFE was designed to ensure security of every member state in the changing conditions, including in the context of transforming and changing military alliances.

"We view as a delay in ratification of the adapted CFE as a direct breach of the commitments undertaken in Istanbul not to strengthen the security of some states at the expense of others," Ivanov said.

According to the minister, there are other problems in the OSCE military and political sphere. Thus, the Vienna document on measures of trust is not functioning fully, the OSCE has still not received a significant peacekeeping capability.

At the same time, the organization has a significant potential in the military and political sphere, the Russian minister added. As an example he named the decisions on control over exports of portable anti-air missile systems and elimination of superfluous ammunition reserves. Moscow welcomes these moves as an important contribution to strengthening the OSCE legal base, Ivanov concluded.