Russian president signs decree denouncing arms treaty with NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 29 signed a decree denouncing the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), a landmark post-Cold War arms control agreement signed with NATO.

The decree, published on the government's portal, came almost two weeks after Russian lawmakers approved Moscow’s withdrawal from the CFE treaty, according to Anadolu.

On May 10, Putin submitted a bill to the Russian State Duma, the country’s lower house of parliament, denouncing the CFE treaty.

The CFE was a landmark post-Cold War arms control agreement signed on Nov. 19, 1990 in Paris between two military blocs, NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

It imposed limits on five key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe – tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters, and combat aircraft – and mandated the destruction of excess weaponry.

In 1999, an updated CFE treaty was drafted and approved in Istanbul, Türkiye, taking into account new realities such as the Warsaw Pact dissolution and NATO expansion.

Because NATO countries did not ratify the agreement, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the CFE treaty in 2007.

Later, he told the Russian parliament that the suspension will be valid until NATO countries ratify the treaty and begin implementing it.

In 2015, Russia also ceased participation in the CFE Joint Advisory Group meetings.