Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 40, September - October 1999

US Alleges Russian CFE Treaty Violations in Chechnya

On October 6, The Washington Times reported a US determination that Russian force levels deployed in the on-going conflict in Chechnya were in violation of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. On October 8, State Department spokesperson James Rubin confirmed this: "We're talking about many, many hundreds of pieces of equipment over the limits in the armour combat-vehicle category... They've been exceeding the flank limit for a long time. This is not a matter of a temporary deployment that gives them some provision under the treaty... The Russians have promised to provide us additional information about their military activities in Chechnya with regard to these treaty limitations". During the conflict over Kosovo this year, Russia alleged NATO violations of the Treaty.

Report: US says Russia violated arms pact, Associated Press, October 8.

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