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Russia warns Nato on arms treaty
BBC ^ | Friday, 15 June 2007, 16:19 GMT 17:19 UK | BBC Staff

Posted on 06/15/2007 10:37:37 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Russia warns Nato on arms treaty

A Russian tank. File photo

Russia says the CFE treaty has become "meaningless"

Russia has warned Nato it could freeze its participation in a key arms control treaty in Europe, after talks on the issue ended in deadlock.

The talks in Vienna were aimed at reviewing the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, which limits the number of non-nuclear weapons.

The Kremlin says the 1990 treaty is outdated and restricts its ability to move troops around its own territory.

Russia ratified the 1999 revised version, but Nato has not done so.

Nato states are first demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia and Moldova, but Moscow says the issues are not linked.

'Real option'

"The current CFE treaty has for all intents and purposes become meaningless. It's no longer viable," Russian delegation chief Anatoly Antonov said after the four-day extraordinary talks called by Russia.

"But no-one listened to us. They continued to admonish us," Mr Antonov said.

He added that Russia's moratorium on honouring the treaty "will become a very real option" if dialogue on the issue continued to be stalled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the CFE treaty - signed eight years after the Warsaw Pact was dissolved - no longer reflects the post-Cold War world.

On Friday, Nato issued a statement expressing regret that no deal had been reached.

But it urged Russia "to engage in continuing dialogue which would lead to a positive outcome in the future".

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the CFE treaty harks back to another age and in many ways it is difficult to see quite why it is relevant today.

Russia was alarmed when the US withdrew from another Cold War agreement - the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty - in 2001.

Faced by a US administration that sees less and less value in such agreements, the Russians are signalling that what goes for Washington goes for them too, our correspondent says.




TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: nato; russia

1 posted on 06/15/2007 10:37:38 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: All
Related item:

Gates: U.S. Missile Plan in Europe a Go

2 posted on 06/15/2007 10:38:51 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

It’s all lining up quite nicely. Going to be very, very interesting times ahead. Lock and load, friends. Are you ready for the main feature?


3 posted on 06/15/2007 10:53:12 AM PDT by Shaun_MD ("April 12th, 1861. Remember that date")
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

I think they want to invade eastern Europe....thus their demurrer regarding defensive weapons and western leaning strategic alliances.


4 posted on 06/15/2007 11:00:45 AM PDT by Banjoguy (Don't buy Chinese.....you can do it!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

If they give the six month notice of withdrawal from treaty then that’s fine. America withdrew from the ABM treaty after all. No big deal.


5 posted on 06/15/2007 11:02:37 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Russians do an about face after 911 and accelerate their nuclear assistance to Iran. We throw our weight into the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Russia further accelerates assistance to Iran and apologizes to Islam. We begin plan for ABM in Europe and so on and so forth. The feet of the bear are beginning to move to become the “beast” mentioned in Revelations. All of these countries represented as animal parts making up this kingdom are all European nations. The UK is represented as the head of a lion. Startingly, this also appears to be holding true with the UK universities boycotting Israel and anti-semitism accelerating as a whole there.

You have the dragon which is China and it appears al-queda acting as the tail (assymetric warfare). Delegates of the Taliban were meeting with PRC generals during our assault of Tora Bora.

What to do? When hell really breaks out, help your neighbors survive and then we’ll crush the beast. Revelations does state the beast goes off into destruction.


6 posted on 06/15/2007 12:07:39 PM PDT by quant5
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