Moscow: European arms control document must include new weapons
MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax) - A new document on conventional arms control in Europe, which will replace the CFE Treaty, should not only affirm indivisible security principles but also include new types of armaments acquired by European armies, Russian General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov said.
"There is the most complex situation around the CFE Treaty [on conventional armed forces in Europe], which is an illustrative example of mistrust of the epoch of confrontation between blocs," he said at an international conference on European security in Moscow.
Russia had to declare a moratorium on its CFE Treaty commitments in December 2007, Gerasimov said. "We also realized the need for developing completely new Euro-Atlantic security principles on equal non-bloc terms targeting collective efforts in the provision of regional peace," he said.
Military political realities show there is no alternative to the creation of a new mechanism of control over conventional armaments, which must be adapted to modern conditions and rule out a military solution of international problems, he said.
"It is impossible to develop a useful and efficient regime of control without bearing in mind the interests of Russia that plays a major role in the balance of European forces," Gerasimov said.
The future regime of control over conventional armaments in Europe should provide "equal and indivisible security in Europe and balance rights and commitments of the sides," he observed.
"Some of these principles are declared in the Vienna document of 2011," Gerasimov said.
"However, mechanisms of the Vienna document must be adjusted to transformations in the armies of many European states," the Russian General Staff chief said.
Many armies acquired new types of armaments "which are not regulated with agreements but may have a significant influence on military potentials of states," he said.
