Moscow, May 10, (dpa/GNA) – Russia is preparing to officially withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty), according to an order by President Vladimir Putin, published by the Kremlin on Wednesday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, was assigned to lead the debate in parliament. The draft law on withdrawal itself has not yet been received by the Russian State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia.
The CFE Treaty sets the ceilings for the stationing of heavy weapons on the European continent. These include battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and helicopters.
Moscow was one of the co-signatories of the agreement in 1990, but put most of its implementation on hold in 2007.
Since 2015, one year after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, Russia has also no longer participated in the meetings of the advisory group.
After the start of Russia’S full-scale invasion of Ukraine in february 2022, Putin called on his country’s defence companies to massively ramp up production.
Since then, many companies in the sector have been working in multiple shifts to meet the Russian army’s demand for ammunition and weapons, including heavy weapons.
At the beginning of the year, Russia also suspended the New Start nuclear arms control treaty, which was still valid as the last major disarmament agreement between Russia and the US.
GNA