Russia Suspends Adherence to CFE Arms Control Treaty

Via Gulf Times (Qatar) -

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending Russia’s adherence to the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) arms control treaty due to “exceptional circumstances ... broaching on the security of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

A spokesman for Nato, Russia’s partner in the treaty, called the move “a step backward.” A White House spokesman described it as “disappointing.”

While the moratorium will likely have little practical impact on troop deployments, analysts said it was the latest assertive move from a Kremlin that wants to rewrite the rules of transatlantic relations to take account of Russia’s newfound strength.

“It wants to revise the rules of the game in the Euro-Atlantic area written when Russia was weak,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the Moscow-based journal Russia in Global Affairs.

“Europe will be extremely uneasy over this and Russia is hoping that this nervousness will lead to a softening of its position.”