Turkey suspends implementation of European security treaty

Ankara, Turkey - Turkey has suspended its implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), it officially announced on Friday, several months after Russia withdrew from the pact and the US also suspended implementation.

Turkey has not withdrawn from the pact but has suspended its implementation, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli stressed in a written statement.

Russia withdrew from the treaty last November 7, and ‘as a result, there was no possibility to continue meaningful implementation of the treaty’, said Keceli.

He added that the suspension can be reversed.

“In this regard, a statement was made by the NATO Council on November 7. We also made another statement announcing our decision with its justifications. The date on which the decisions of NATO allies to suspend implementation of the treaty will enter into force is determined by each ally within the framework of their national legislation,” he explained.

“Currently, the decision to suspend implementation of the treaty by the majority of NATO allies who are parties to the CFE has entered into force. The internal legal process for the suspension of our implementation of the CFE was completed as of April 8, 2024, and the presidential decree on this matter was published in the Official Gazette dated April 5, 2024,” Keceli said.

Russia officially withdrew from the treaty on November 7, 2023, after suspending its participation in the treaty in 2015.

That same day, the US also announced that it had suspended its obligations under the treaty following Russia’s withdrawal. On November 8, Canada also announced that it had suspended its obligations under the treaty.

On March 6, the Moldovan government approved suspension of the CFE, as stated by Valeriu Mija, secretary of state for defence policy.

“Moldova suspends it with the possibility of returning to implementation later,” he said.