Russia set to freeze 1990 arms cut pact

Nov 07,2007 00:00 by UPI

MOSCOW -- Russia moved a step closer to suspending a 1990 arms reduction pact Wednesday when the state Duma voted in Moscow to support President Vladimir Putin's plan.

In July, Putin said he wanted a moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty because it is outdated, the Novosti news agency said Wednesday.

The original treaty was first signed in Istanbul in 1999 and Russia signed on to amendments in 2004, along with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

However, no other NATO members signed the 2004 version, one of the reasons Putin cited as a reason for the moratorium, Itar-Tass reported.

He also said the treaty doesn't reflect the breakup of the Warsaw Pact, the dissolution of the Soviet Union or the expansion of NATO, the report said.