Türkiye suspends implementing Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

Türkiye has suspended its implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), several months after Russia withdrew from the pact and the US also suspended implementation.

Türkiye has not withdrawn from the pact but has suspended its implementation, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli stressed on Friday in a written statement.

Russia withdrew from the treaty last November, and “as a result, there was no possibility to continue meaningful implementation of the treaty," said Keceli.

He added that the suspension can be reversed.

"In this regard, a statement was made by the NATO Council on Nov. 7. We also made another statement announcing our decision with its justifications. The date on which the decisions of NATO allies to suspend implementation of the treaty will enter into force is determined by each ally within the framework of their national legislation,” he explained.

"Currently, the decision to suspend implementation of the treaty by the majority of NATO allies who are parties to the CFE has entered into force. The internal legal process for the suspension of our implementation of the CFE was completed to be effective as of 8 April 2024, and the presidential decree on this matter was published in the Official Gazette dated April 5, 2024," Keceli said.

In 1999, an updated CFE treaty was drafted and approved in Istanbul, taking into account new realities such as the Warsaw Pact's dissolution and NATO expansion.

Major withdrawals from treaty

Russia officially withdrew from the treaty on November 7, 2023, after suspending its participation in the treaty in 2015.

That same day, the US also announced that it had suspended its obligations under the treaty following Russia's withdrawal.

On November 8, Canada also announced that it had suspended its obligations under the treaty.

On March 6, the Moldovan government approved suspension of the CFE, as stated by Valeriu Mija, secretary of state for defence policy.

"Moldova suspends it with the possibility of returning to implementation later," he said.

Poland also withdrew from the treaty last month.

CFE Treaty

The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, signed a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, placed verifiable limits on categories of conventional military equipment that NATO and the then-Warsaw Pact could deploy.

The treaty was designed to prevent either side of the Cold War from amassing forces for a swift offensive against the other in Europe.

It imposed limits on five key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe — tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters, and combat aircraft — and mandated the destruction of excess weaponry.

The treaty also requires parties to inform all other parties of the maximum levels of conventional arms and equipment restricted by the treaty upon signing.

"Each State Party shall, in exercising its national sovereignty, have the right to withdraw from this Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events related to the subject matter of this Treaty have jeopardised its supreme interests,” said the treaty.