Poland Suspends Commitment to the Conventional Armed Forces Treaty

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a law today, Friday, to suspend his country's commitment to the Conventional Armed Forces Treaty in Europe. A statement from the Polish Presidential Office indicated that "the President of Poland signed a law that suspends the implementation of the Conventional Armed Forces Treaty in Europe, signed in Paris on November 19, 1990." The statement noted that "the suspension of the treaty will result in the fact that the Republic of Poland, like other countries that have decided to do so, while remaining officially a party to this treaty, will not be obligated to comply with its provisions." The Conventional Armed Forces Treaty in Europe was signed in 1990 between NATO member countries and the former Warsaw Pact countries, including Poland, and symbolized one of the indicators of the end of the Cold War. The purpose of the treaty was to reduce the available offensive conventional weapons for the member states of both NATO and the former Warsaw Pact at the time of its signing, and to maintain them at a certain level.