Russia is withdrawing from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
The Russian president Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin today signed the law on Russia's withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
"The Russian withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe will essentially have no effect because the mechanism is long out of date, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today."
When asked what impact Russia's decision to withdraw from the agreement would have, Peskov replied that "it shouldn't have a direct impact, because the mechanism is already dead, and it's not Russia's fault."
He added that now in the area of arms control and strategic stability there is "a big gap that, theoretically, should be urgently filled with new acts of international law that would regulate that situation".
"It is practically in the interest of the whole world, but it requires the functioning of bilateral relations with a large number of countries, which we currently do not have, and it is not our fault," Peskov pointed out.