For a decade after it was signed in 1990, the Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) served as the cornerstone treaty on conventional disarmament and arms control in Europe. However, following Russia’s withdrawal and having engaged in close consultation with NATO member countries, the Federal Government decided on 7 November 2023 to suspend the CFE Treaty. Germany’s suspension of the treaty took legal effect on 8 April 2024. The treaty had been concluded by the then members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact – which soon afterwards would be dissolved – and entered into force in 1992. It intended to create a secure and stable balance of conventional armed forces at lower levels, as well as to eliminate the ability to launch a military surprise attack or to take large‑scale offensive action in Europe.

It is viewed as a great accomplishment of the treaty that, by the mid‑1990s, some 60,000 heavy weapons systems were destroyed in the States Parties. These included battle tanks, artillery systems and combat aircraft. The CFE Treaty thereby played a major part in reducing military tensions following the end of the Cold War. Its verification provisions, i.e. the system of notifications and on‑site inspections for conventional armaments and equipment, enhanced mutual transparency and predictability, as well as mutual trust and cooperation.

In 1999, agreement was reached on an Adapted CFE Treaty with the intention of bringing the treaty in line with changes to the security policy environment in Europe. However, a majority of the States Parties declined to ratify the new Treaty. They considered its ratification to be impossible as long as Russia failed to meet its voluntary commitment to completely withdraw its troops from the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.

Russia unilaterally suspended implementation of the CFE Treaty in 2007, in response to which NATO member countries and Moldova and Georgia ceased to implement the treaty as it relates to Russia at the end of 2011. In 2015, Ukraine followed suit. In March 2015, Russia also suspended its participation in the treaty’s Joint Consultative Group. With its actions since 2014, i.e. its illegal annexation of Crimea and its support for “separatist” regions, the so‑called “People’s Republics” in eastern Ukraine, as well as the war of aggression it launched on Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has destroyed trust and erased the conventional arms control accomplishments that were achieved in the 1990s.

Russia remains undeterred in continuing its illegal attack on Ukraine. Russia is thereby continuing to flagrantly violate fundamental principles of international law as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the CSCE Final Act and the Charter of Paris. Similarly, Russia is fundamentally contravening the objectives of the CFE Treaty. Its aim was to create a secure and stable balance of conventional armed forces in Europe and to eliminate the capability to launch surprise attacks or large‑scale offensives.

Under these circumstances and without Russia’s participation, most of the treaty’s security and arms control benefits are being lost. Against this background, suspension of the CFE Treaty by the Federal Republic of Germany and all NATO Allies that are also CFE States Party was a necessary reaction to Russia’s withdrawal.

At the same time, suspension of the CFE Treaty by Germany and its fellow Allies does not constitute a termination of the treaty. Should Russia substantially change its conduct, the CFE Treaty can in principle be re‑implemented.

The Federal Government remains committed, as do all NATO Allies, to one of the central principles of the CFE Treaty, namely effective arms control for conventional armed forces in Europe.
The Federal Republic of Germany is prepared, in cooperation with interested European countries that share the goal of risk prevention and confidence-building, to continue certain verification activities as set out in the CFE Treaty. The verification capabilities of the German Bundeswehr that would be required for this are therefore being maintained. Furthermore, the Federal Government intends to continue upholding the national ceilings for the arms systems covered by the CFE Treaty.