MOSCOW, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Russia has no obligation to abide by the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty once the senate passes a moratorium, Russia's military chief said Thursday.
Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, in an interview with the Czech military journal ATM, said that on Dec. 12, when the moratorium takes effect, Russia will stop providing information and conducting inspections required by the treaty.
"We will not consider ourselves bound by quantitative limitations on conventional weapons," he said.
The lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, has already passed the moratorium, and a vote is set in the senate next week, Novosti said. The bill was introduced by President Vladimir Putin.
The CFE was originally adopted in 1990. NATO countries did not ratify an amended version in 1999.
Baluyevsky said that Russia has fulfilled most of its obligations under the CFE, with its remaining troops in Georgia expected to be withdrawn soon. He said that withdrawal from Transdnestr depends on the Moldovan government reaching a settlement with the breakaway region.
