Administration of the USA Regrets about Putin's Decision to Suspend Operation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

The administration of the USA regrets for the decision of the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to suspend the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe but hopes to continue negotiations. "We are disappointed by the fact that Russia has suspended at the moment its participation (in Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe) but we shall continue with the Russians negotiations in forthcoming months about the best way to move ahead in this sphere which meets the interests of all parties and provides safety in the Europe", - the official representative of National Security Council at the president Gordon Johndroe declared to RIA News.

Answering a question, whether the decision of the Russian president was unexpected for Georges Bush's administration, Johnroe hinted that Washington was ready to such succession of events. "We knew that Vladimir Putin has earlier already said that there was such opportunity and it's not the first time he raised a question about Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe", - the official representative of National Security Council said.

The press-service of the Kremlin published on Saturday the decree of the president of the Russian Federation about suspension of operation of a Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe by Russia and international contracts connected with it. The decree inures from the date of its signing. Operation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces and these agreements stops in 150 days from the date of reception of notices which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia on behalf of president Putin transfers to depositories and the state-participants of Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe on July, 14th, 2007.

This decision has no precedents in the newest history of Russia.

Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe established safe and stable balance of conventional armed forces of the Europe at lower levels, provided liquidation of potential for a sudden attack. The treaty limited accommodation in the Europe of fighting tanks, armored troop-carriers, infantry combat vehicles, large-caliber artillery, warplanes and helicopters.

According to Russia, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in its present state is hopelessly obsolete, as it was signed in 1990 and took into consideration presence of two resisting military-political unions - NATO and the Warsaw Pact. From those times Warsaw Pact stopped its existence. The Soviet Union also disintegrated and former allies of the USSR joined NATO.

The Agreement on adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe which in the certain degree corrected existing skews was signed in 1999 under the initiative of Russia. "However the Western partners for already more than seven years do not give this Agreement to come into force under the far-fetched pretexts", - is stated in the application.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia names excess of quantity of arms of the military-political union of NATO in the so-called flank area including the north and the south of the Europe "scandalous".

"The situation with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe is predicted enough, Sergey Ivanov spoke about withdrawal from the treaty in the days of his being the Minister of Defence in January of the last year, - editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk Anatoly Baranov makes comments on a situation.

- However, the question today is not whether the treaty corresponds to the current interests or not, but whether Russia is capable to increase today the conventional armaments proportionally to the threat from the part of NATO. In fact Russia's withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe unties hands not only to Moscow but also its potential opponent.

The treaty appeared when the quantity of conventional armaments of the Warsaw Pact countries in the Europe exceeded noticeably by quantity and quality the arms of the countries of NATO. That is first of all it was favourable to the West and Gorbachev's management of the USSR agreed to the treaty being guided by "new way of thinking".

Today, if Russia will leave from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the countries of NATO if desired can increase quantity of conventional armaments to the sizes necessary for them and Russia can't oppose anything to it. Already today Russia is inferior to the block of NATO in the field of conventional armaments as well as to separate countries such as Turkey on the Black Sea and Sweden on the Baltics.

On the 19^th of November, 1999 in Istanbul the state-participants of the Treaty signed the Agreement on adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe considering changes of military-political conditions on the European continent. On its basis transition from zone-block structures of the treaty to national and territorial marginal levels of arms and techniques limited by the Treaty for the concrete state-participant should be carried out.

Actually it was assignment of geostrategic capitulation of Russia in the Europe. Our country took additional obligations but they were connected not with de-militarization, but with withdrawal of our presence on postSoviet space.

Withdrawal of Russia from the Treaty in such situation will mean only that our country be expelled therefrom, whence it has not left itself, not considering with the Russian interests. We have actually nothing to oppose, except for fine blackmail by power resources. We should withdraw from the Treaty, at least, 15 years earlier, though even then the race of arms with the West was above our strength.

Today it is just not clear step worsening relations with the West and not giving any benefits".