Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty

The Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty is a post–Cold War adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), signed on November 19, 1999 during the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) 1999 Istanbul summit. The main difference with the earlier treaty is that the troop ceilings on a bloc-to-bloc basis (NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact) would be replaced with a system of national and territorial ceilings. Furthermore, the adapted treaty would provide for more inspections and new mechanisms designed to reinforce States Parties’ ability to grant or withhold consent for the stationing of foreign forces on their territory.

The Adapted Treaty will enter into force when all 30 states-parties have ratified the agreement. As of August 2006, only Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine have done so. NATO member-states link their ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty with the fulfillment by Russia of the political commitments it undertook at the 1999 OSCE Istanbul Summit (so called "Istanbul commitments") to withdraw its forces from Georgia and Moldova.

Russia has strongly criticized this linkage, which it considers artificial, and has on several occasions questioned the relevance of the Adapted CFE Treaty, given its continued non-ratification by NATO states.

In the run-up to the OSCE's 1999 Istanbul summit, NATO members were concerned by three treaty compliance problems. First of all, they emphasized that the continuing existence of Russian equipment holdings in the "flank" region were well in excess of agreed Treaty limits. Secondly, they were opposed to a Russian military presence in Georgia—a presence which was beyond the level authorised by the Georgian authorities. Thirdly, they were concerned about the Russian military presence in Moldova which lacked the explicit consent of the Moldovan authorities. NATO members insisted on a package of measures designed to address these issues.

During the summit, 30 OSCE member states—including NATO member states and Russia—signed the adapted CFE treaty. Russia agreed to withdraw from the Republic of Moldova, reduce its equipment levels in Georgia and agree with the Georgian authorities on the modalities and duration of the Russian forces stationed on the territory of Georgia, and reduce their forces in the flanks to the agreed levels of the Adapted CFE Treaty. These agreements became known as the "Istanbul Commitments" and are contained in 14 Annexes to the CFE Final Act and within the 1999 Istanbul Summit Declaration.

...
Wikipedia