President Pulls Out Of A Key Treaty

The agreement, known as the CFE Treaty, was signed in 1990 and limits the number of conventional armed forces that may be deployed in Europe. An amended version of the treaty was signed in 1999. Representatives of NATO countries condemned Putin's move. "We are not at all happy with Moscow's decision," Sven Mikser, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament, said Sunday by telephone from Tallinn. Mikser linked the decision to a recent "aggressive" trend in Russian foreign policy. NATO called the development "a step in the wrong direction." The alliance was expected to hold talks on formulating a response early this week. Mikhail Gorbachev, who was Soviet president when the treaty was first signed, said Sunday that he backed the suspension. "It would be utterly incomprehensible if Russia were the only country to follow the treaty, and the other side hadn't even ratified it," Gorbachev said, Interfax reported. The suspension is not a surprise. Putin first floated the idea in his state-of-the-nation address in April, and he linked it to U.S. actions that have angered Moscow, especially plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe. Saturday's presidential decree made no mention of the missile shield, however. It focused instead on the failure of NATO countries -- especially the alliance's new members in Eastern Europe -- to ratify the updated version of the treaty signed in 1999. It also criticized U.S. plans to deploy forces in Bulgaria and Romania. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/07/16/001.html

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