Russia To Withdraw from Arms Treaty in Europe 

By Staff, Agencies 

Russia announced on Wednesday that it intends to formally withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe [CFE], a military transparency agreement that is currently suspended. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has been selected by President Vladimir Putin to supervise the procedure in the Russian parliament.

The appointment was revealed on Wednesday as part of regular Kremlin announcements. Ryabkov will represent the government in both chambers of parliament regarding the proposed withdrawal, the document said.

The CFE treaty was one of the cornerstones of the attempted de-escalation of tensions between the Warsaw Pact bloc and NATO during the final days of the USSR. Signed in 1990, the agreement set limits for deployment of conventional forces on the European continent and established various transparency mechanisms, such as on-site verification inspections.

Moscow has long complained that the expansion of the US-led military bloc, which included the accession of former members of the Warsaw Pact, was undermining the treaty.