According to the Kremlin press release, Putin signed a law on a moratorium on Russia’s participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty earlier unanimously cleared by both houses of the Russian Federal Assembly (Parliament) and will come into effect at midnight on December 12.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the upcoming moratorium does not stipulate permanent withdrawal from the CFE Treaty. Moscow will resume its obligations as soon as NATO countries ratify the adapted version.
The original CFE treaty was signed in December 1990 by 16 NATO countries and six Warsaw Pact members. The document had set equal limits for the parties on five categories of conventional weapons — battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery pieces, combat aircraft and assault helicopters.

Russia considers the existing CFE treaty to be discriminatory and outdated since it does not reflect the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the break-up of the Soviet Union and the expansion of NATO inside the former Soviet frontiers in the Baltic States.

Russia toughened its stance on CFE Treaty after the US announced plans to deploy elements of its ballistic missiles shield with killer missiles in former Soviet allies Czech Republic and Poland, now new NATO members.
Although Washington argues that the shield is against “rogue missiles”, experts claim that it would cripple Russia’s second strike capability in case of the first nuclear attack by the US.

The modified version of the arms control treaty, which Western nations consider a cornerstone of European security, was signed on November 19, 1999 by all NATO countries except Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia.