§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals have been made by(a) NATO and (b) Russia concerning the Adapted CFE Treaty; what the outstanding issues are; and if he will make a statement. [107746]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe NATO position on the Adapted CFE Treaty was set out most recently in the Prague Summit Declaration in November 2002. This emphasised Allies' commitment to the early entry into force of the Adapted Treaty, welcomed the significant results of Russia's efforts to reduce forces in the Treaty's Article V areas to agreed levels, and urged swift fulfilment of the outstanding Istanbul commitments on Georgia and Moldova "which will create the conditions for Allies and other states parties to move forward on ratification".
In the statement following the NATO-Russia Council at Prague, NATO and Russia agreed to continue to work co-operatively toward ratification by all States Parties and the entry into force of the Adapted Treaty.
The aim of the UK is for the Adapted Treaty to come into force as soon as possible and, with NATO allies, we continue to urge Russia to resolve the outstanding issues on Georgia and Moldova, in line with the bilateral agreements made at the Istanbul OSCE summit.