NATO allies suspend obligations under CFE Treaty
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The North Atlantic Council announced on Tuesday the decision of NATO Allied States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) to suspend all of their obligations under the Treaty. The US supports the decision.
The US Department of State said, in a press release, “Our suspension of CFE obligations is consistent with our rights under international law, in response to a fundamental change of circumstances caused by the combination of Russia’s withdrawal from the CFE Treaty.”
CFE was signed on Nov. 19, 1990 in Paris and entered into force in 1992.The main element of the agreement was the reduction of existing offensive conventional armaments held by NATO and former Warsaw Pact countries.
The suspension will take effect on Dec. 7.
Moscow seeks through its withdrawal to undermine “decades of progress made towards building transparency and cooperative approaches to security in Europe.”
Russia’s behavior undermines “the key arms control principles of reciprocity, transparency, compliance, and verification,” according to the press release.
“We should not continue to be bound by a treaty to which Russia is not bound,” the Department of State reported.