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 14^th of July 2007 to suspend as of the 12^th 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.