Kazakhstan suspended its participation in the CSTO

Kazakhstan has decided to suspend its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). This was reported by Zamin.uz.

This decision was signed by the country's president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on November 17, 2023. The CFE Treaty was originally signed in November 1990 by 16 NATO countries and 6 Warsaw Pact countries.

The treaty envisages limitations on military equipment, including tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems of 100 mm caliber and above, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters in the area from the Atlantic to the Urals. In total, 28 countries were members of this treaty.

In 1999, at the OSCE summit held in Istanbul, an updated version of the CFE Treaty was presented. However, this version was ratified only by four countries — Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

In 2007, Russia suspended its participation in the treaty and fully withdrew from it in 2023. Following Russia's decision, NATO countries also suspended their participation in the CFE Treaty for an indefinite period.

Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova have made similar decisions. Thus, Kazakhstan's suspension of its participation in the CFE Treaty further reduces the number of countries actively engaged under this agreement.