III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 278 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the announcement of the Russian Federation of its suspension of implementation of the Conventional 

Armed Forces in Europe Treaty. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 24, 2007 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. SMITH, Mr. DODD, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. DEMINT, 

Mr. VOINOVICH, and Mr. CHAMBLISS) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JULY 31, 2007 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the announcement of the Russian Federation of its suspension of 

implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces in 

Europe Treaty. 

Whereas the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, signed at Paris November 19, 1990 (‘‘the CFE 

Treaty’’), was agreed upon and signed by 22 States Parties in order to establish predictability, transparency, and 

stability in the balance of conventional military forces 

and equipment in an area of Europe stretching from the 

Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains; 

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Whereas there are now 30 States Parties to the CFE Treaty, 

including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, 

Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, 

Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, 

and the United States; 

Whereas the CFE Treaty is recognized as one of the most 

successful arms control treaties of the modern era and 

has served as a cornerstone of European security as the 

continent emerged from the shadows of the Cold War; 

Whereas the CFE Treaty facilitated the destruction or conversion of over 52,000 battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters; 

Whereas the CFE Treaty continues to enable an unprecedented level of transparency into military equipment 

holdings and troop deployments in Europe, including over 

4,000 on-site inspections of military units and installations implemented since the entry into force of the Treaty; 

Whereas, on November 19, 1999, at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Summit in Istanbul, 

Turkey, the parties to the CFE Treaty signed an Adaptation Agreement to reflect the dissolution of the Warsaw 

Pact, the expansion of membership in the North Atlantic 

Treaty Organization (‘‘NATO’’), and other changes in 

the European geopolitical environment; 

Whereas, at the time of the signing of the Adaptation Agreement, the Russian Federation made a series of pledges, 

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known as the Istanbul Commitments, to withdraw its remaining military forces and equipment from the territory 

of Georgia and Moldova or otherwise negotiate consensual agreements on their continued presence; 

Whereas while the Government of the Russian Federation has 

taken initial steps towards fulfilling the Istanbul Commitments, it continues to maintain troops and associated 

equipment in both Georgia and Moldova without the express sovereign consent of the governments of either of 

those countries, and the United States and other parties 

to the CFE Treaty have therefore refrained from taking 

steps to ratify the Adaptation Agreement; 

Whereas, on April 26, 2007, President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, in a speech to the Federation 

Council of the Russian Federation, announced his intention to initiate an unspecified ‘‘moratorium’’ on Russian 

compliance with the CFE Treaty, citing the refusal of 

NATO Members to ratify the Adaptation Agreement, 

concerns over the proposed United States missile defense 

deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic, and new 

basing arrangements between the United States Government and the Governments of Bulgaria and Romania as 

unacceptable encroachments on the security of the Russian Federation; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation subsequently requested, as is its right under the CFE Treaty, 

an Extraordinary Conference to discuss its outstanding 

concerns, which was held from June 12 to June 15, 

2007, in Vienna, Austria; 

Whereas, on July 14, 2007, President Putin issued a formal 

decree announcing the intention of the Russian Federation to suspend compliance with the CFE Treaty after 

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providing 150 days advance notice to the other CFE 

Treaty signatories; 

Whereas President Putin justified his decision on ‘‘extraordinary circumstances’’ that ‘‘affect the security of the 

Russian Federation and require immediate measures’’; 

Whereas the CFE Treaty provides a formal mechanism for 

withdrawal of a State Party from the Treaty following 

150 days of notice, but does not contain any provision for 

suspension; and 

Whereas the Department of State, in responding to the announcement by the Government of the Russian Federation to suspend compliance with the CFE Treaty, declared, ‘‘The United States is disappointed by the Russian announcement of its intention to suspend implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe 

(CFE) Treaty. The United States remains committed to 

CFE’s full implementation. We also remain committed to 

the ratification and entry into force of the Adapted CFE 

Treaty. We look forward to continuing to engage with 

Russia and the other States Parties to the Treaty to create the conditions necessary for ratification by all 30 

CFE States.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the Senate that the deci3 sion of the Government of the Russian Federation to 

4 suspend implementation of the Treaty on Conven5 tional Armed Forces in Europe, signed at Paris No6 vember 19, 1990 (‘‘the CFE Treaty’’), is a regret7 table step that will unnecessarily heighten tensions 

8 in Europe; 

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1 (2) the Senate recognizes the enduring value of 

2 the CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European secu3 rity and affirms its support for the basic principles 

4 of transparency, accountability, host country consent 

5 for the stationing of foreign military forces, and the 

6 rule of law embodied in the CFE Treaty and the 

7 1999 Adaptation Agreement thereto; 

8 (3) the Senate strongly urges the Government 

9 of the Russian Federation to reconsider its suspen10 sion of CFE implementation and engage with the 

11 other parties to the CFE Treaty to resolve out12 standing problems and establish an agreed approach 

13 leading to the eventual implementation of the 

14 Adaption Agreement to the CFE Treaty; 

15 (4) the Senate calls on the Russian Federation 

16 to fulfill its Istanbul Commitments of 1999 and 

17 move speedily to withdraw all remaining forces and 

18 military equipment from Georgia and Moldova; 

19 (5) the Senate encourages all parties to the 

20 CFE Treaty to engage the Russian Federation in 

21 seeking innovative and constructive mechanisms to 

22 fully implement the Istanbul Commitments, con23 sistent with the principles and objectives of the Or24 ganization of Security and Cooperation in Europe 

25 (OSCE) and making full use of OSCE mechanisms; 

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1 (6) the Senate calls on all States Parties to en2 sure that the resolution of the current disputes sur3 rounding the CFE Treaty be considered a priority at 

4 the highest political levels, recognizing that the CFE 

5 Treaty is important both as an arms control treaty 

6 and as an essential building block for stable rela7 tions between the Russian Federation and neigh8 boring countries in Europe; and 

9 (7) the Senate encourages officials of the Gov10 ernment of the Russian Federation to refrain from 

11 belligerent statements that only further polarize re12 lations and jeopardize security in Europe. 

Æ 

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