The CFE agreement was concluded in 1990 by the 22 members of NATO and the now defunct Warsaw Pact to enhance arms control in Europe. An updated version, elaborated to adapt the accord to post-Cold War realities, was signed by all the parties in 1999, but only four - Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan - have ratified it so far.
"Imbalances that have emerged in the area [covered by] the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty are [now] going over the top in terms of a sensible equilibrium of interests and equilibrium of opportunities to ensure one's security," Lavrov said.
The trans-Atlantic alliance has said its member nations will not ratify the adapted CFE until after Russia withdraws its military bases from ex-Soviet republics, such as Georgia and Moldova.
Lavrov said the link is far-fetched and that NATO countries are just using it as a pretext not to ratify the adapted treaty, which, it seems, they do not need.
"Many analysts believe the problem is not whether or not Russia retains its peacekeeper contingents in Moldova and Georgia, all the more so since their deployment there has nothing to do with the adapted CFE," Lavrov said. "It is just that our partners have concluded they do not want the adapted CFE."
