MOSCOW, November 10. Russia may increase its military power after withdrawing from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), which should worry Warsaw, political scientist and international relations expert Kenton White said in an interview with Conversation.
“»Formal withdrawal from the treaty <…> should alarm the Baltic countries and Poland. Anything that puts pressure on NATO unity is good for Moscow,” White believes.
It is noted that the agreement has not been effectively respected by NATO countries for several years. The United States, in turn, stopped following it since 2011.
White is convinced that the termination of the CFE Treaty will be a significant burden on the North Atlantic Alliance, and for Russia will play a positive role.
Moscow has pointed out many times to the absence of aggressive intentions towards any states. At the same time, the Kremlin has repeatedly noted that the North Atlantic Alliance, on the contrary, is striving for confrontation. According to presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the bloc is aimed at expansion, which cannot bring greater security to Europe.
On the night of November 7, Russia finally completed the procedure for withdrawing from the CFE Treaty. Previously, the corresponding law was signed by President Vladimir Putin. The Foreign Ministry noted that the accession of Finland to NATO and the procedure for admitting Sweden to the alliance were the “last straw” that made it necessary to terminate the treaty.
In connection with Moscow’s withdrawal from the CFE Treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry added that it does not see the possibility of concluding agreements with NATO countries in in the area of arms control, since the authorities of all countries of the bloc have demonstrated complete inability to negotiate.