NATO formally suspends Cold War-era security treaty after Russia pullout

NATO has announced the formal suspension of a key Cold War-era security treaty in response to Russia’s pullout from the deal just hours earlier.

The alliance also said on Tuesday its members who signed the treaty are now freezing their participation in the pact.

Most of NATO’s 31 allies have signed the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which was aimed at preventing Cold War rivals from massing forces at or near mutual borders.

It was signed in November 1990, but not fully ratified until two years later.

NATO said its action was required because "a situation whereby Allied State Parties abide by the Treaty, while Russia does not, would be unsustainable."

Earlier in the day, Moscow said it had finalised its withdrawal from the treaty, also known as CFE.

The long-expected move came after both houses of the Russian parliament approved a bill proposed by President Vladimir Putin denouncing the CFE. Putin signed that bill it into force in May this year.

The treaty was one of several major Cold War-era treaties involving Russia and the United States that ceased to be in force in recent years. Russia suspended its participation in 2007, and in 2015 announced its intention to completely withdraw from the agreement.

Russia blames West's 'destructive position'

In February 2022, Moscow attacked Ukraine, sending hundreds of thousands of Russian troops into the neighbouring country, which also shares a border with NATO members Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the process of the formal withdrawal from the treaty has been completed, without elaborating what that entailed. It blamed the US and its allies for the withdrawal and the West’s allegedly "destructive position" on the treaty.

"We left the door open for a dialogue on ways to restore the viability of conventional arms control in Europe," it said. "However, our opponents did not take advantage of this opportunity."

The statement further said that "even the formal preservation" of the treaty has become "unacceptable from the point of view of Russia’s fundamental security interests," citing developments in Ukraine and NATO's recent expansion.

In Brussels, NATO said that its allies who had signed on "intend to suspend the operation of the CFE Treaty for as long as necessary, in accordance with their rights under international law."

The alliance underlined that its members remain committed "to reduce military risk, and prevent misperceptions and conflicts."

NATO said that its members will continue to "consult on and assess the implications of the current security environment and its impact on the security" of the alliance.