Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law on the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) by Moscow.
The relevant document is published at the official legal information portal.
Earlier in May, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a law denouncing the treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe to the lower house of the parliament.
Commenting at the Russian president's initiative, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov argued that the Treaty on CFE has become a relic of the past as the military-political situation in Europe has worsened due to actions of the West.
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.