Interfax
June 25 2004
Duma ratifies agreement on adapted CFE Treaty
MOSCOW. June 25 (Interfax) – The State Duma voted 355-28 with two
abstentions on Friday to ratify an agreement on the adapted
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, which was signed in
Istanbul in November 1999.
An explanatory note to the document says the treaty must be ratified
by all 30 signatory countries to take effect.
The adapted CFE Treaty will significantly reduce the conventional
arsenals of Europe’s most powerful nations, as well as the United
States and Canada.
“The overall number of tanks to be reduced in NATO’s 19 nations will
total 4,800, armored personnel carriers 4,000, and artillery pieces
4,000, which is equivalent to the arsenal of nearly one dozen
motorized divisions equipped under NATO standards,” the note reads.
The treaty’s enactment will not lead to any automatic cut in Russia’s
arsenal. Under CFE Treaty requirements, Russia will be allowed to
have 6,350 tanks, 11,280 armored personnel carriers, 6,315 artillery
pieces, 3,416 combat aircraft, and 885 helicopter gunships.
The adapted CFE Treaty will allow Russia to keep its weapons and
military hardware in Armenia and Ukraine. Bilateral agreements with
Georgia will enable Russia to keep its 153 tanks, 241 armored
personnel carriers, and 140 artillery pieces in that country.