"Attempts to link the observance by Russia of agreements of the OSCE Istanbul summit in 1999 on the withdrawal of the Russian military contingents from Georgia and Moldova (to the CFE problem) are politically motivated," said Mr. Kosachev.
NATO stands to gain from uncertainty over this issue, according to him. Mr. Kosachev said the Duma would hold hearings on whether Russia should or should not ratify an agreement amending the CFE.
"My personal position is that Russia should ratify the amended CFE irrespective of what NATO thinks about the treaty," said the MP. He said Russia was observing the treaty de facto, i.e. its relative arsenals did not exceed the treaty-stipulated ceiling. "Ratifying the treaty will not impose additional restrictions on Russia. This would be more of a political gesture, which would allow Russia to make more urgent demands to ratify the treaty to its NATO partners," explained Mr. Kosachev.
The accession of 7 countries to NATO, 4 of which are not signatories to the CFE treaty, will pose a possible threat to Russia, noted the MP. "Since 4 new NATO countries, namely the Baltic republics and Slovenia, are not signatories to the CFE treaty, NATO can deploy any amount of arms on their territories," said Mr. Kosachev.
