NATO Chief Urges Russia Not To Leave Arms-Control Treaty

De Hoop Scheffer (right) with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in Noordwijk (NATO)

October 25, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says
the alliance would "deplore very much" if Russia decided to leave a key
arms-control agreement.

De Hoop Scheffer said today that NATO members had some understanding for Russian worries about the adapted Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, which limits military deployments on the continent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in April signed a decree suspending Russia's participation in the 1990 treaty, which was amended in 1999.

De Hoop Scheffer told a news conference after a meeting of the NATO Russia Council today that he hoped Moscow would not make any "irreversible moves."

The NATO allies consider the amended CFE Treaty to be "one of the cornerstones, if not 'the' cornerstone of European security," he said. "So, the allies and I would deplore, very much, if the Russian Federation would, at a certain stage, decide to suspend or to leave the CFE Treaty."

De Hoop Scheffer described today's meeting with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov as "constructive" and said it was the right forum to discuss differences over Kosovo and U.S. plans to install missile defenses in central Europe.

(with material from news agency reports)