Putin signs decree to suspend CFE Treaty

Moscow, July 14 (UNI) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to suspend the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and related international agreements in Russia until NATO ratified an adaptation agreement, the Kremlin press service said today.

The decree said the decision followed exceptional circumstances related to the content of the 1990 CFE Treaty that concerned Russia's security and required emergency actions.

The fact that NATO's new members have been refraining from ratifying an agreement on adaptation to the CFE Treaty is seen as the above exceptional circumstances, it said.

Moreover, some group limits under the CFE have been exceeded since the alliance's expansion, it added.

The decree also noted that US plans to deploy conventional arms in Bulgaria and Romania had "a negative impact" on compliance with CFE group limits.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the new NATO bases close to its borders and the alliance's reluctance to ratify an updated CFE Treaty, which has regulated the deployment of troops and weapons in Europe since the Cold War.

Three former Soviet Baltic republics and seven former Communist-bloc states in Eastern Europe have joined NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Former Soviet republics, Ukraine and Georgia have also declared plans to join the NATO.

UNI