The law on the repeal of the Convention on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Tuesday, May 16. Reported by TASS.
State Duma Spokesman Vyacheslav Volodin, on the Telegram channel, “The deputies of the State Duma, guided by the interests of our citizens to ensure the security of the Russian Federation, have decided to terminate the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.”
He also accused US and EU officials of being “obsessed with the idea of building a unipolar world” and destroying the global security system.
Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, said after voting on the bill, “The final withdrawal and termination of the CFE Treaty fully complies with the national interests of ensuring Russia’s security.” .
Volodin also said that the US and NATO are “arming the Kiev regime” to “protect their hegemony” and destabilizing the world.
The draft law on the termination of the AKKA Treaty was submitted to the State Duma by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said that this document has long been out of date.
“The State Duma condemned the CEC Treaty. That’s the lover. This document lost its validity for us in 2007”.
Medvedev also said that nothing prevents the Russian Federation from placing weapons in places where it wants to “protect national interests”, including the European part of Russia.
“We will maximize the production of weapons, military and special equipment and means of destruction,” said the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Yuri Shvytkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, said in a meeting with socialbites.ca that the agreement basically did not work and “Russia has not lost anything.”
“NATO bloc countries did not comply. Of course, we had to take the appropriate precautions. “This agreement is open-ended, but each state has the right to withdraw from the agreement with 150 days’ notice, and this is being done now,” he said.
According to Shvytkin, the key points of the CFE Treaty are the provisions regarding the maximum levels of weapons and equipment for each of the countries participating in the treaty in the region and application areas.
“Today, NATO countries are exceeding these levels as a result of the expansion of the alliance. At that time there was the Warsaw Pact Organization and NATO’s North Atlantic bloc. And this treaty was signed to establish a balance of power. And since 2007, the countries of the NATO bloc have been violating the provisions of this agreement. Military exercises, expansion of various types of weapons, equipment, relevant personnel, ”added the deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee.
According to Shvytkin, Russia could not unilaterally comply with the CFE Treaty “at a time when other participating States did not comply” (since 2007).
“Now the relevant documents will be sent to all participating countries and then there will be a reaction from these countries. So at the same time, we are giving a signal on this issue,” the deputy summarized.
The CFE Treaty was signed in 1990 and adapted in 1997. NATO countries did not ratify an adapted version of this document, continuing to adhere to the 1990 provisions containing conventional weapons norms based on the balance between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Therefore, in 2007, the Russian Federation declared a moratorium on the implementation of the terms of the agreement.
In 2015, the Russian Federation suspended its participation in CFE Joint Advisory Group meetings. Only de jure remained in the contract.
This agreement provided the participating countries with a safe and stable balance of conventional weapons in terms of tanks, armored vehicles, aircraft and attack helicopters, as well as artillery. Thanks to the CFE Treaty, the potentials for launching a surprise attack and large-scale offensive operations have been sharply reduced.
“We have recently received information that some Eastern European states are in direct violation of the Treaty’s requirements”
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov said on May 16. He also gave a negative answer to the journalists’ question whether there is any possibility of returning to the CFE Treaty.
On May 10, Ryabkov said that the CFE Treaty had become a “remnant of the past” after Finland and Sweden had applied to join NATO and Helsinki had been accepted into the alliance.