Putin pulls out of European forces treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin today signed a law suspending his nation’s participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, the Kremlin announced.

The suspension takes effect on December 12.

Under the moratorium, Russia will halt inspections and verifications of its military sites by Nato countries and will no longer be obligated to limit the number of conventional weapons deployed west of the Urals.

The 1990 arms control treaty set limits on the deployment of heavy conventional weapons by Nato and Warsaw Pact countries, to ease tensions along the border between the old Eastern bloc and Western Europe.

The treaty was revised in 1999 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.