President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday suspending Russia's participation in a key post-Cold War arms treaty, a move which could allow it to deploy more forces close to western Europe.

Putin's moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty follows months of increasingly aggressive rhetoric directed against the West ahead of a parliamentary election on Sunday and a presidential vote next March.

"President Putin signed the federal law on suspending the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty," the Kremlin said in a short statement. The bill was passed by parliament this month and needed the president's signature to become law.