By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia will freeze data provision and inspections as part of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, but will be open to further dialogue, the country’s foreign ministry said Saturday.
The foreign ministry statement followed a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin Saturday suspending a version of the Cold War era treaty adapted to the present day military and political realities till NATO ratifies it.
Russia will consider the international agreements frozen 150 days after all participants in the CFE treaty have received notices from the country.
“Upon President Putin’s instructions the Russian foreign ministry will circulate relevant notices July 14, 2007,” the statement said.
Among other things, Russia would not comply with any conventional arms limits, the ministry said. However, the amount of Russian weapons would depend on the situation in the military and political spheres.
Ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, deputy speaker of the lower house of Russia’s parliament or Duma, proposed Saturday that it hold an emergency session to adopt a draft law on freezing the CFE treaty.
Russia considers the 1990 CFE treaty outdated since it does not reflect either the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact or the break-up of the Soviet Union. Unlike NATO, the country also signed an upgraded CFE treaty in 1999.