http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6898690.stm


Russian President Vladimir Putin has suspended the application of a key Cold War arms control treaties.

In a statement, the Kremlin said the choice was due to "extraordinary circumstances" affecting security.

Russia has been angered by US plans to base parts of a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE) limits the number of heavy weapons deployed between the Atlantic Ocean and the Urals mountains.

'Cornerstone'

The Kremlin said the suspension would take immediate effect.

A Nato spokesman said the alliance "regretted" Russia's decision.

"The allies consider this treaty to be an important cornerstone of European security," James Appathurai said.

He added that the move was "a disappointing step in the wrong direction".

Russia's suspension of its application of the treaty is yet another sign of a worsening relationship between the US and Russia, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus.

An informal meeting earlier in July at the Bush family's Maine home seems to have done very little to improve ties between the two leaders, he says.

The CFE agreement of 1990 was one of the most significant arms control agreements of the Cold War years.

It set strict limits on the number of offensive weapons - tanks, aircraft, artillery and so on - that the members of the Warsaw Pact and Nato could deploy in Europe, stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals.

In the wake of the collapse of communism, the treaty was revised in 1999, in part to address Russian concerns.

But this revised treaty has never been ratified by the Nato countries who want Russia to withdraw all of its forces from two breakaway regions with Russia-speaking majorities - Abkhazia in Georgia and Trans-Dniester in Moldova.

The Kremlin maintains that the CFE treaty is outdated and restricts its ability to move troops around its own territory.