Russia’s suspension of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty

Russia could renew compliance with a key Cold War treaty limiting military forces in Europe if Western countries ratify the pact as Moscow has, President Vladimir Putin said Monday. “If our partners ratify this treaty and begin to implement it we do not rule out returning to it completely, but we are also not going to wait forever,” Putin told reporters while visiting a space research centre.

Putin spoke four days after he signed into law Russia’s suspension of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, drawing sharp criticism from NATO and the United States.

Signed by NATO members and states of the defunct Warsaw pact, the 1990 CFE treaty places strict limitations on the deployment of tanks and other military hardware across Europe.

Moscow says the CFE is not working because an updated version agreed in 1999 to take account of the break-up of the Communist bloc has been ratified by Russia but not by NATO countries.

NATO members, led by the United States, say they cannot ratify the pact because Moscow has not fully complied with a related commitment to withdraw its military presence from ex-Soviet Georgia and Moldova.

Moscow says it has met those requirements.

“Russia did not only sign this agreement, but it ratified it and implemented it unilaterally during many years. We could not tolerate this situation any longer,” said Putin.

Russia’s suspension of the treaty enters into force on December 12 but military officials have said this would not trigger any immediate redeployment of forces in western Russia.

Putin had ordered the moratorium in July amid a row over U.S. plans to install an anti-missile shield in eastern Europe.

“We have heard in many different ways that everything being done in the military area near our borders is not aimed against Russia,” Putin said.

“But as they say in such situations, it’s not the intention but the potential” that matters.

“This potential poses a threat to Russia’s security,” he added.

In Brussels, the NATO expressed regret and said questions about Russia’s possible future military posture would be raised at a foreign ministers’ meeting next week.

“We hope that the Russian Fede­ration will not take any unilateral action that undermines the integrity of the treaty,” NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels.

A senior U.S. official said Russia’s suspension of the arms treaty was a “mistake” and urged Moscow to return to the negotiating table for talks.

“Russia has made a mistake in this unilateral behavior of walking out of a major arms control treaty in Europe,” U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns told a news conference in Madrid.

Following Putin’s signature, the suspension will enter into force on December 12, but a senior Defense Ministry official said the decision would not trigger any immediate redeployment of Russian forces on its western flank.

“The entry into force of the moratorium does not mean that Russia will immediately start redeploying troops on its flanks,” said the unnamed official quoted by the Interfax news agency.

“But we reserve the right to move our forces on our territory where we consider them necessary,” he said.

Earlier this month Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Kolmakov said plans were being considered for boosting troop deployments on western borders, once CFE provisions were frozen.

Applauding the move, a senior Russian lawmaker said other international treaties would come under scrutiny by the new parliament that is set to be dominated by Putin’s United Russia party.

“I think that we were right to do this and we should have done it earlier,” said first deputy speaker Lyubov Sliska, a senior member of United Russia, was quoted by Interfax as saying.

“I believe that this is a first step toward reviewing those agreements that do not suit Russia or harm it,” Sliska said.

Putin, who was the lead candidate for United Russia in this month’s vote, had ordered the moratorium in July amid a row over U.S. plans to install an anti-missile shield in eastern Europe.

Criticising CFE, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, another Putin ally, described provisions of the treaty as “absolutely colonial.”

“Under this agreement, we cannot move a single tank on our own territory,” said Sergei Mironov quoted by Interfax.

“Russia fulfilled the CFE provisions in good faith while NATO bases sprang up in Romania, Bulgaria and the United States prepared to install its anti-missile defense system along Russia’s border,” Mironov said.