Russia has officially withdrawn from a key arms treaty that it had been a part of with Europe for decades.
The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty was established in 1990 between the then Eastern Bloc Warsaw Pact and NATO countries in the West.
The parties agreed on a significant reduction in the number of conventional weapons and forces in Europe.
The blocs agreed that conflicts should be resolved politically and not militarily. They also agreed that the other side has the right to perform a number of inspections and evaluations of military units.
For some time, Russia has indicated that it does not intend to follow the treaty. In 2015, the country left the CFE's consultative group.
Now, Russia is abandoning the treaty entirely.
This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Russia has formally withdrawn from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe," the department emphasized in a statement.
