9
expansion.
17
The CFE was renegotiated in 1999 but has to yet to enter into force due to
NATO-Russian disputes over the Russian presence in Georgia.
The 1990 CFE was outdated a year after is signing since the limits on conventional forces
were based on Cold War alliances, and the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union had
dissolved. NATO proposed new territorial limits in February 1997 in talks among the 30
parties. In 1999, the Adapted CFE treaty was signed. Slovenia and the three Baltic
republics, however, were not parties to the original CFE when it was negotiated, and have
not yet signed it because the 1999 agreement had no provisions for accessions and has yet
to enter into force, and so cannot be modified.
Re-negotiating the CFE was to Russia’s advantage because the 1990 version limited
military forces in the Soviet zone, which had included the territory of the new entrants.
Limits under the 1999 version are lower than the prior treaty, but still above actual
NATO deployments.
The dispute over the 1999 version rests on pledges Russia made in the non-binding “Final
Act” signed in Istanbul along with the CFE. Under the Final Act, Russia pledged to
withdraw troops and base from Moldova and Georgia.
18
NATO members refused to ratify
the treaty until Russia met those pledges. Russia has reduced its military forces below
CFE limits, but has yet to withdraw from Moldova and Georgia. NATO and Russia are at
an impasse. By Sep. 2002, Russia had fulfilled its obligations to reduce forces under the
CFE in the “flank” area that abuts the NATO members, but had not withdrawn from
17
Evangelista, “NATO Stay Away from My Door.”; Mandelbaum, “Don't expand NATO.”; for
the text of the open letter, see “Opposition to NATO Expansion.” Arms Control Today (Jun./July.
1997).
18
Michael R. Gordon, “Russia to Cut Its Military Forces in Georgia.” The New York Times. 24
Nov. 1999. p.A8; See Annex 13 & 14 http://www.osce.org/docs/english/1990-
1999/cfe/cfefinact99e.htm ; Eric Schmitt, “Rumsfeld Says Russian Troops Should Move Out of
Moldova.” The New York Times. 27 June 2004. p.14
Convention