US, Russia Missile Defense Dispute

Russia seeks changes to European arms pact through talks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-06-13 10:07

VIENNA - Russia wanted to make further changes to the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty as the 30 signatory states started an emergency conference here on Tuesday.

"Russia remains committed to the noble goals that were taken about 20 years ago as a basis of the European mode of control over conventional weapons," said Anatoly Antonov who heads the Russian delegation.

"But Europe has changed, and this circumstance necessitates a modernization of the set of tools used to achieve these goals," he added.

The original CFE treaty, deemed as a cornerstone in ensuring European security, was concluded in 1990 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and then Warsaw Treaty Organization. It prescribes upper limits for the amounts of military aircraft, tanks and other non-nuclear heavy weapons deployed around Europe.

The treaty was later amended in 1999 to reflect changes after the 1991 disintegration of the Soviet Union, but the adapted version has so far only been ratified by Russia, together with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

The United States and other NATO members have refused to ratify the amended treaty, accusing Russia of failing to meet the so-called " Istanbul commitment" to pulling out military forces from Georgia and Moldova.

Russia, concerned about the original treaty's restrictions on its troop movements within its borders, wants NATO members to rapidly ratify the amended version.

Meanwhile, Russia also intended to start new negotiations on further changes to the treaty as soon as the 1999 treaty was ratified by all NATO member states.

Russia's "partners should realize that Russia cannot and will not fulfill the obsolete treaty at any cost to the detriment of its own security," said Antonov, who is also director of Russian Foreign Ministry's security and disarmament department.

Russia made the request for an emergency conference two weeks ago. The meeting will last till Friday.