Russia has officially pulled out of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) amid ongoing conflict with Ukraine
This treaty, created in 1990 after the Cold War, aimed to reduce the risk of conflicts between East and West.
It set rules on how much military equipment could be deployed to keep a balance between NATO and the old Warsaw Pact nations.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced this departure in a statement, clarifying that the treaty no longer aligned with Russia’s interests.
They stated, “Russia ceased its involvement in this international treaty in 2007, and now it is a matter of history for us.”
The statement also highlighted the withdrawal of two other significant agreements linked to the CFE, namely the Budapest Agreement of 1990 and the CFE’s Flank Document.
Russia’s stance was that the CFE Treaty lost its relevance, prompting efforts to adapt it to the new circumstances. A modified version was indeed signed in 1999, but it never came into effect.
NATO responded by asserting that Russia’s actions, including the invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict there, were inconsistent with the objectives of the CFE Treaty.
Russia has exhibited a recurrent pattern of disengagement from international agreements. In November 2016, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to withdraw Russia from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
In February 2022, Russia exited the Open Skies Treaty, which permitted observation flights over military installations.
This decision followed the United States’ withdrawal from the same treaty. Significantly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, appears to be related to its exit from the Open Skies Treaty.