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NATO’s Disapproval of European Arms Treaty Amendment Irritates Russia Russia has voiced dissatisfaction with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s disapproval of the adaptation agreement on a European arms treaty, Xinhua news agency reported. Acknowledging the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) as a cornerstone of Russia-NATO relations, Moscow believed the treaty was effective in principle but had fallen far behind current practices of Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said. Only after NATO ratified the Adaptation Agreement on the CFE Treaty, could the CFE Treaty fully play its part, the spokesman said. Kamynin made the remarks one day before an informal Russia-NATO Council meeting is held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Kamynin also criticized NATO for linking the ratification of the agreement with Russia’s obligations, noting it was unfair for Russia and would lead the two sides nowhere. Calling the Russia-NATO Council a significant factor in maintaining military and political stability in the European-Atlantic region, the spokesman said redefining NATO’s role in the region would serve the security interests of the area. The Adaptation Agreement on the CFE Treaty was passed at the sixth Summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul, Turkey in November 1999. The adaptation agreement signed by the 30 parties to the treaty was aimed at further cutting the number of warplanes, tanks and other heavy non-nuclear weapons and enhancing the weapons verification measures. Under the agreement, the group structure of the treaty, originally set up to maintain a balance of forces between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, was replaced by a system of national ceilings on major military weapons and equipment. However, NATO has not ratified the agreement so far. In 1997, NATO and Warsaw Pact members held their second round of negotiations in Vienna, Austria on amendments to the CFE Treaty,as one of Russia’s requirements for NATO’s plan of eastward expansion. The CFE Treaty was signed in Paris on Nov. 19, 1990, by heads of state or government of NATO’S then 22 members and the former Warsaw Pact Organization. ---------------------------------------------------
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