Putin signs law denouncing Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill officially denouncing the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). The new law was published on the Russian government’s official legal information portal.

The CFE Treaty, which was signed on November 19, 1990 by all NATO and Warsaw Pact member states, imposed restrictions on the amount of conventional arms and combat equipment its signatories can possess. The agreement came into effect in November 1992, after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Putin ordered for the treaty to be denounced on May 10, 2023. On May 16, the Russian State Duma voted to denounce the agreement, and on May 24, the Federation Council followed suit.

Russia suspended its participation in the CFE Treaty in July 2007. In March 2015, Moscow announced it was ending its participation in the CFE Treaty Joint Consultative Group.