NATO RESPONSE TO RUSSIAN ANNOUNCEMENT OF INTENT TO SUSPEND OBLIGATIONS
UNDER THE CFE TREATY
1.
NATO Allies place the highest value on the CFE regime. They participated
actively in the CFE Extraordinary Conference called by the
Russian
Federation
and held in Vienna
from 12-15 June 2007. They listened carefully to the
Russian
Federation’s
concerns and responded by submitting elements for a final document that
suggested a positive way forward. The announcement
by the Russian
Federation issued on
the
14th of July 2007 to suspend as
of the
12th of December 2007 its
participation in the work of this landmark Treaty, including its flank regime
and associated documents is deeply disappointing. The Allies are very concerned
by this unilateral decision.
2.
We regret that despite our best efforts it was not possible to achieve
agreement on a Final document in Vienna
although our proposals were supported by 25 of the 30 States Parties. We hope
that dialogue among all States Parties can be resumed
shortly.
3.
We remain firmly committed to the CFE Treaty and wish to achieve the
earliest possible entry into force of the Agreement on Adaptation in a manner
consistent with the Alliance’s position of principle contained in paragraph 42
of the 2006 NATO Riga Summit Declaration, recalling their views on the
importance of all remaining commitments reflected in the Final Act of the
Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe and its Annexes that was agreed at Istanbul in 1999.
4.
We underline that the process of exchanging information on military
forces and conducting on site inspections goes to the core of the Treaty’s role
in providing transparency regarding the forces of States Parties. We expect that
all the States Parties will continue to implement fully all their obligations
under the CFE Treaty and associated documents. NATO Allies are fully committed
to do so.
5.
We hope that the Russian
Federation
will join us in constructive and creative dialogue to ensure the continued
operation and viability of the landmark CFE Treaty including its flank regime
and not undermine prospects for entry into force of the adapted CFE Treaty. In
this regard, we reiterate our view that this dialogue should include the
opportunity for structured discussion of all parties’ concerns including at an
extraordinary conference.