Türkiye has withdrawn from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
"It has been decided to suspend the implementation of the Treaty between the Republic of Türkiye and the other states that are parties to the Treaty as of April 8, 2024 in accordance with Article 3 of the Presidential Decree No. 9,” according to the country’s Official Gazette.
In 1999, an updated CFE treaty was drafted and approved in Istanbul, taking into account new realities such as the Warsaw Pact's dissolution and NATO expansion.
Russia also withdrew from the treaty in 2023, blaming the United States for undermining post-Cold War security with the enlargement of the NATO military alliance.
Russia suspended participation in the treaty in 2007 and halted active participation in 2015. More than a year after its military attack against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin in May signed a decree denounced the pact.
Poland also withdrew from the treaty last month.
CFE Treaty
The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), signed a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, placed verifiable limits on categories of conventional military equipment that NATO and the then-Warsaw Pact could deploy.
The treaty was designed to prevent either side of the Cold War from amassing forces for a swift offensive against the other in Europe.
It imposed limits on five key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe — tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters, and combat aircraft — and mandated the destruction of excess weaponry.
