The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty was signed in 1990 to classify and set the ceiling for weapons that can exist in the European theater. In 1999, an adapted version of the treaty was signed and has been ratified by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, but the document has sparked debates over some clauses that have been interpreted differently by the signatory states.
"The balance of rights and commitments [of the countries party to the treaty] has been upset," Anatoly Antonov, the chief Russian delegate to a Vienna conference on the CFE Treaty, said Tuesday.
Russia says it has implemented all provisions under the treaty to withdraw troops from former Soviet republics. However, NATO, Georgia and Moldova have been urging Russia to remove its remaining ammunition from their territories, saying that under the document Russia should complete a military pullout from former Soviet republics.
Officials in Moscow insist no deadline for the move is set in the CFE Treaty.
"Today the blocking basis of the treaty offers considerable privileges to members of the military and political alliance [NATO] at the expense of those countries who are not in the alliance, including Russia," he said.
Antonov said the document, which had originally been intended as a mechanism for preserving and consolidating control over conventional weapons in Europe, was used by some countries as "an instrument for attaining their geopolitical interests in the former Soviet republics."
The diplomat blamed this approach for undermining the work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the world's largest regional security organization, and for causing serious problems in relations between Russia and NATO.
Antonov said some parties to the treaty refused to consider the real situation in the conflict zones in Georgia and Moldova, and find compromise solutions, which prevented the ratification of the adapted treaty.
Russia has 1,500 peacekeepers in the breakaway region of Transdnestr in Moldova and 500 peacekeepers in Georgia's South Ossetia, though its contingent has been considerably reduced since the early 1990s.
