MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: Western countries have reacted to Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) with some measure of alarm, but there is nothing to discuss here, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.
"The reaction (of the West to Russia’s withdrawal from the CFE Treaty - TASS) was not without an element of alarm. Naturally, we understand that it doesn’t add to the feeling of security in the West, but there are no grounds for any consultations here. Consultations should have been held earlier; the door has been open since the suspension of the treaty in 2007," he said at a plenary session of the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament.
According to Ryabkov, Western countries have received an inevitable answer and, "their situation will not improve after that."
Ryabkov has been appointed as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official representative to the parliament during the legislative process of denouncing the CFE Treaty.
The Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe was signed in 1990 and amended in 1997. However, the NATO countries never ratified the amended version of the document and have continued to adhere to the 1990 provisions, based on the conventional arms balance between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. As a result, Russia had to declare a moratorium on implementing the treaty in 2007.
On March 11, 2015, Russia suspended its participation in meetings of the Joint Consultative Group on the CFE Treaty, completing the process of suspending its membership in the CFE while remaining a purely de jure party to the treaty. Since then, Belarus has represented Russia’s interests in the Joint Consultative Group.
