IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 603 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the announcement 

of the Government of the Russian Federation of its intention to suspend 

implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 1, 2007 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on 

the announcement of the Government of the Russian 

Federation of its intention to suspend implementation 

of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. 

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

Treaty), was agreed upon and signed by 22 countries in 

order to establish parity, 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; 

Whereas there are now 30 countries that are party to the 

CFE Treaty, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, 

Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, 


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France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, 

Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, 

Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, 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 agreements 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 account for the demise 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, 

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


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of Georgia and Moldova or to 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 government 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, on the occasion of his last State 

of the Union speech, announced 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 Government of the United States and the Governments of Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania as unacceptable 

encroachments on the security of Russia; 

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; 

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 

providing 150 days advance notice to the other CFE 

Treaty signatories; 


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Whereas President Putin justified the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation on account of ‘‘extraordinary circumstances’’ that ‘‘affect the security of the 

Russian Federation and require immediate measures’’; 

Whereas, while the CFE Treaty provides a formal mechanism 

for withdrawal of a country that is party to the Treaty 

following 150 days of notice, it does not contain any such 

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 House of Representa3 tives that the announcement of the Government of 

4 the Russian Federation of its intention to suspend 

5 implementation of the Treaty on Conventional 

6 Armed Forces in Europe, signed at Paris on Novem7 ber 19, 1990 (the CFE Treaty), is a regrettable step 

8 and may unnecessarily heighten tensions in Europe; 

9 and 


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1 (2) the House of Representatives— 

2 (A) recognizes the enduring value of the 

3 CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European se4 curity and a force for stability in the transition 

5 of Europe from the Cold War to the modern 

6 era; 

7 (B) strongly urges the Government of the 

8 Russian Federation to reconsider its intention 

9 to suspend CFE implementation and engage 

10 with the other parties to the CFE Treaty in an 

11 intensive dialogue to resolve outstanding prob12 lems and establish a foundation for the eventual 

13 implementation of the Adaption Agreement to 

14 the CFE Treaty; 

15 (C) calls on the Russian Federation, in ac16 cordance with that process, to fulfill the 

17 Istanbul Commitments of 1999 and move 

18 speedily to withdraw all remaining forces and 

19 military equipment from Georgia and Moldova; 

20 (D) strongly encourages all parties to the 

21 CFE Treaty to engage the Russian Federation 

22 in seeking innovative and constructive mecha23 nisms to fully implement the Istanbul Commit24 ments and thus facilitate the rapid entry into 

25 force of the Adaptation Agreement; and 


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1 (E) strongly encourages officials of the 

2 Government of the Russian Federation to re3 frain from belligerent statements and threats 

4 that only further polarize relations and jeop5 ardize security in Europe. 

Æ 


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