Dick Lugar: “on May 28, 2007, Russia requested an Extraordinary Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed…”

“on May 28, 2007, Russia requested an Extraordinary Conference of States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe--the CFE Treaty--to discuss what Russia identified as ``exceptional circumstances'' that may lead them to suspend implementation of the treaty. Russia complains that most of their former Warsaw Pact allies have now joined NATO, significantly altering, in Russia's view, the ``balance'' of forces in Europe. This Extraordinary Conference is now under way in Vienna, Austria. What happens there will have tremendous implications for the security of Europe and for U.S.-Russian relations. Both sides must avoid actions that could lead to the potential unraveling of a treaty that has served as a cornerstone of European security since the end of the Cold War. In 1990, the CFE was conceived as a mechanism to reduce post-Cold-War arsenals of conventional weapons in Europe and has evolved into a stabilizing influence through its wide range of agreed verification measures. This treaty should not be relegated to the dustbin of history. That is not in the interest of all European States, including Russia, nor of the United States. The CFE Treaty was originally designed to limit the possibility of a surprise attack on Europe, when the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact still existed.”