Lukashenko signs bill suspending CFE Treaty into law

MINSK. May 29 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a bill suspending the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) into law, the document was published on the national website of legal information on Tuesday.

"To suspend the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe dated November 19, 1990," the document signed by Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko agreed in early April to submit a bill suspending the CFE Treaty to parliament. Later on, the parliament passed the bill.

In August 2022, Czechia announced that it was suspending its obligations to Belarus under the CFE Treaty. Poland made a similar decision in March 2023. Belarus responded to the unfriendly steps of Poland and Czechia in October 2023 by adopting a bill to suspend its CFE Treaty obligations to Poland and Czechia.

The North Atlantic Council said in November 2023 that NATO member states planned to suspend its implementation. Russia also quit the treaty. "The decision of NATO member states and their allies to suspend the treaty actually stops its functioning," the Belarusian presidential administration said at the time.

The CFE Treaty was ratified by Belarus and took effect in 1992. It imposes quantitative limits on conventional weapons and hardware in five main categories (tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery, attack helicopters and warplanes) and introduces verification mechanisms (the exchange of information and inspections).