The State Duma recommended to denounce the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

The State Duma Committee on International Affairs unanimously supported the draft law on the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). This was announced by the head of the committee Leonid Slutsky.

Yes, unanimous decision. We will consider it on Tuesday at the plenary session, on the 16th,” he said (cit. according to TASS).

The bill for consideration by the State Duma was introduced the day before, 10 May. It was initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The explanatory note says that along with the treaty, other documents related to it, including agreements on maximum levels for the presence of conventional weapons and equipment, will automatically terminate.

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe refers to the limitation of five categories of weapons and equipment: tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery with a caliber of more than 100 mm, combat aircraft and attack helicopters. The document provides for the exchange of information and extensive inspection activities in the participating countries.

The treaty was signed by the USSR and European countries back in 1990, before the final collapse of the Warsaw Pact Organization (WTO), and took into account the balance of conventional weapons between the two blocs. After the collapse of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, the question arose of adapting the CFE Treaty in accordance with the new realities, which are especially relevant after NATO’s expansion to the east. By 1999, a version of the so-called adapted CFE Treaty was prepared, which raised the ceilings on the “flank restrictions” of conventional weapons for Russia. In 2007, Russia suspended participation in the treaty until “NATO countries begin to implement this document in good faith.”