The breakdown of the post-Cold War order has accelerated over the past five years, with a number of security agreements being abrogated. A Russian diplomat explained the reasons for Russia's withdrawal from the treaty.
"Washington had no plans for a substantive conversation. It believed in its own impunity, accelerated the process of NATO expansion by openly circumventing the group restrictions of the CFE Treaty, and, finally, engaged in a hybrid war with Russia at the hands of the Ukrainians," the ambassador said in a statement.
Antonov added that even the formal preservation of Moscow's participation in the treaty under such conditions was unacceptable from the point of view of Russia's national interests.
"With the decision to withdraw [from the CFE Treaty], Russia sends a clear signal: attempts to build military security in Europe without taking our concerns into account are doomed to failure. It is time for the Americans and their satellites to stop overestimating their forces," the ambassador said.
On the night of November 7, Russia finalized the procedure of withdrawal from the CFE Treaty.
Russia suspended its participation in the CFE Treaty back in 2007 in protest of NATO countries refusing to ratify the 1999 Adapted CFE Treaty. At the same time, Russia remained a party to the treaty. Earlier this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Finland's NATO accession and Sweden's membership bid were "the last straw" that made Russia's exit from the treaty inevitable.
The CFE Treaty was signed in Paris in 1990 by representatives of 16 NATO member states and six Warsaw Pact members and entered into force on November 9, 1992. The treaty introduced limits on major types of conventional military equipment in Europe and provided for the destruction of surplus weapons.