Lukashenko agreed to submit CFE Treaty suspension bill to House of Representatives

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has agreed to submit a draft law On the Suspension of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, sb.by reports with reference to the Belarusian leader’s press service

This document was ratified by Belarus and entered into force in 1992, envisaging limits on conventional weapons and equipment across five main categories (battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters), as well as mechanisms for verifying compliance with obligations (information exchange and inspections).

The draft law envisages the suspension of the CFE Treaty, but does not mean Belarus’ withdrawal from it and the cessation of internal procedures in the country’s Armed Forces related to its implementation.

Belarus fully fulfils its obligations under the treaty, including strictly adhering to the established maximum levels of the availability of weapons, military equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces.

Nevertheless, in August 2022, the Czech Republic, and in March 2023, Poland decided not to implement the agreement in relation to Belarus.

In November 2023, NATO’s North Atlantic Council announced the intention of the alliance members participating in the treaty to suspend its operation. Russian also withdrew from the CFE Treaty.

The suspension of the CFE by NATO members and their allies actually means the termination of its functioning.