CFE Treaty Denunciation To Have Little Impact On War

The Russian Presidency has issued a decree stating that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has been appointed as President Vladimir Putin's official representative during the consideration in parliament of the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). The CFE places limits on the size of the conventional armaments (tanks, artillery, aircraft etc.) of its signatories, and was intended as a post-Cold War effort to reduce tensions between NATO and former Warsaw Pact countries. Russia 'suspended' its participation in 2007 and 'completely halted' participation in 2015.

• As such, the actual impact on the conduct of the war in Ukraine or the size or quality of the Russian armed forces will be nil given that Moscow has not adhered to the CFE for over 15 years.
• The denunciation is likely to prove more of a public relations effort to criticise the military provisions made to Ukraine by its western allies, with Ukraine and the NATO members in 1990 all current signatories to the treaty.