Russia imposed a unilateral moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty in December 2007 amid concerns over U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe, as well as NATO's ongoing expansion.
"We call upon Russia to resume its implementation without further delay," the ministers said in a joint statement following a meeting in Brussels.
Moscow considers the original CFE treaty, signed in December 1990 by 16 NATO countries and six Warsaw Pact members, to be discriminatory and outdated since it does not reflect the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc, the breakup of the Soviet Union, or recent NATO expansion.
Russia has repeatedly said it will resume its participation in the CFE if NATO countries ratify the adapted version of the treaty, signed on November 19, 1999 and so far ratified only by Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
NATO underscored on Wednesday the strategic importance of the CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic Security, calling on Russia to "work cooperatively" in order to "preserve the benefits of this landmark regime."
"Russia's actions in Georgia have called into question its commitment to the fundamental OSCE principles on which stability and security in Europe are based: principles which underpin the CFE Treaty," the statement also said, referring to August's five-day war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. NATO called Russia's response to Georgian forces attack on South Ossetia "disproportionate."
