The Russian Federation Council approved the law on the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty). The bill was submitted to the State Duma by President Vladimir Putin on May 10 and approved by MPs on May 16.
The CFE Treaty was signed in 1990, it set quotas for the number of battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery, attack helicopters, and combat aircraft. Russia suspended the treaty in July 2007 after NATO refused to ratify its updated version. The explanatory note to the CFE Treaty draft denunciation stated that the treaty “is largely outdated and has lost touch with reality,” including due to the NATO expansion.