Russia has formally withdrawn from a key conventional arms control treaty with Europe decades after suspending cooperation over NATO expansion, Russias Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) placed limits on the number of conventional weapons that could be deployed by NATO and Warsaw Pact countries west of the Ural Mountains.The collapse of the Soviet Union changed strategic balances, leading to Russias ratification of a revised CFE in 1999.In 2007, Russia imposed a moratorium on participating in the CFE and halted participation in its consulting group in 2015, blaming NATO countries for failing to ratify the updated treaty.The United States and other NATO members called on Russia to first withdraw forces from separatist territories in Georgia and Moldova before signing the updated CFE.At 00:00 on Nov.
7, 2023, the procedure established by the CFE for Russias withdrawal from the treaty was completed, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.Thus, the international legal document...
has finally become history for Russia., it said in a statement.In May, President Vladimir Putin signed a law formally exiting CFE, with the Kremlinsaying at the time that the Russian leader's signature was a formality because the treaty was already dead.The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that even the formal preservation of CFE has become unacceptable from the standpoint of Russias fundamental security interests.It noted that Moscows move stemmed from NATO bearing direct responsibility in fomenting the invasion of Ukraine, as well as the United States -led military alliance accepting Finland's membership and considering Swedens application.NATO has placed the blame on Russia for failing to comply with CFE obligations and said Moscows exit would undermine Euro-Atlantic security.