Russian Upper House Committee Backs Denunciation Of CFE Treaty - Source

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2023) The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council has supported a bill on the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, a source told Sputnik on Monday.

"The committee supported the law on denunciation of the CFE Treaty," the source said.

The Russian parliament's upper house will consider the bill on May 24, according to the agenda of the session published last week.

The CFE Treaty was signed in Paris in 1990 by representatives of 16 NATO member states and six Warsaw Pact members. The treaty introduced limits on major types of conventional military equipment in Europe and provided for the destruction of surplus weapons.

In 1999, an updated version of the treaty was signed at the Istanbul summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to reflect the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the expansion of NATO. However, the adapted version was ratified only by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending the country's participation in the CFE until NATO countries ratified the adaptation agreement and begin implementing their obligations under the document. At the same time, Russia remained a party to the treaty.