Europe

Documents & Texts from America.gov

12 December 2007
Statement Regarding Russian "Suspension" of the CFE Treaty

The United States of America deeply regrets the Russian Federation's decision to "suspend" implementation of its obligations under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) on December 12, 2007. Russia's conventional forces are the largest on the European continent, and its unilateral action damages this successful arms control regime. This "suspension," which is not provided for under the terms of the CFE Treaty, is the wrong decision.

The CFE Treaty has demonstrated its importance through unprecedented reductions in levels of military hardware in Europe and a transformation of the political context of our security dialogue from suspicion to mutual confidence.

Russia's action is particularly disappointing because the United States and NATO Allies have been engaged for the last several months in an intensive dialogue with Russia to address the issues Moscow has raised, while taking account of the concerns of all 30 States Parties. We have offered constructive, generous proposals for parallel actions on ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty and fulfillment of remaining commitments that were made at the OSCE's Istanbul Summit in 1999, with the objective of achieving our common goal of entry into force of the Agreement on Adaptation to the CFE Treaty.

Together with our NATO Allies and Treaty partners, we will carefully monitor Russia's actions with regard to its CFE Treaty obligations. We encourage Russia to reverse its decision and to work with us to resolve all outstanding concerns of all States Parties.

back to top ^