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Secretary of State Arkadiusz Mularczyk attends conference of states parties to Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

29.06.2023

On 29 June 2023, Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk took part in a conference of states parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) which was convened in Vienna due to Russia’s withdrawing from the Treaty. Poland chaired the conference convened by the Netherlands, the depository of the Treaty.

Secretary of State Arkadiusz Mularczyk attends conference of states parties to Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

-Russia’s withdrawal from the CFE Treaty is illustrative of a familiar behaviour pattern and the most recent instance in a series of ostentatious Russian activities undermining security in Europe, most clearly evidenced by Russia’s full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine - underlined Deputy Minister Mularczyk. It is obvious that the erosion of the CFE regime, which cannot be denied, is the result of Russia’s deliberate policy and activities - he added. 

The deputy head of the Polish MFA condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the CFE Treaty and recalled that country’s other harmful and destructive decisions regarding arms control in Europe, which caused the fall of the INF and START treaties. 

Deputy Minister Mularczyk recalled that by suspending unilaterally and in violation of  international law the implementation of its obligations under the CFE Treaty already in 2007, Russia rejected any restrictions on the development of its conventional armed forces. He found that, together with the latest decision to withdraw from the Treaty, this raises the question of whether the objectives set out therein could still be achieved.

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe was negotiated in 1990, and entered into force in 1992. Its main goal was to set up a secure and stable balance of conventional armed forces in Europe to eliminate the capacity to carry out a sudden attack and launch a large-scale offensive operation in Europe. To this aim and in line with the Treaty, the numbers and deployment capability of certain categories of armaments (battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters) were limited. Any changes were monitored by means of a system of mutual notifications and inspections.

Russia’s decision to terminate the CFE Treaty will become effective 150 days after submitting a relevant note, that is on 7 November 2023. Przeprowadzenie konferencji w ciągu 21 dni od notyfikowania przez Rosję wypowiedzenia Traktatu CFE było obowiązkiem wynikającym z zapisów tej umowy.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Polish MFA

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