German officials and officials with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) say that after years of negotiations, agreement has been reached on the basic elements of a new treaty restricting conventional weaponry in Europe.
German diplomats and OSCE officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL that the basic agreement was reached last week in Vienna, where the negotiations have been based.
The treaty would place limits on the number of artillery, tanks, armored troop carriers, war planes, and attack helicopters which can be held by any individual nation. Another part restricts the number of reinforcements which can be brought in from other countries.
NATO had earlier said the agreement would be "the cornerstone" of a new security regime in Europe. The aim is to ensure that in the future, no single country will be able to maintain military forces at levels which would allow it to hold a dominating position on the European continent.
German and OSCE officials say that the basic agreement concluded in Vienna last week has been accepted by 30 states, including Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and all other members of NATO and the former Warsaw Pact. Confirmation from other capitals was not immediately available.
The officials said the agreed treaty will be presented at this month's NATO Summit meeting in Washington and the final text is expected to be signed at a summit meeting of the OSCE in Istanbul in November.
The new treaty will replace the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty limiting conventional forces on the continent, and several amendments since then.
The German and OSCE officials said it was achieved only after difficult negotiations in which all parties had to give way on some cherished positions.
They said that as an example, both Russia and NATO had to give way on some measures involving the new members of NATO--Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. They said Russia also gave way on some of its positions about its forces in the Caucasus.
The original 1990 CFE treaty was based on the total holdings of two blocs of military power--NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The new treaty would treat every country individually. Each would be allowed a maximum number of conventional forces of its own and each is allowed to deploy only a certain number of foreign forces on its territory to make an overall limit.
German officials said, for example, that Germany will be allowed a maximum of 3,444 main battle tanks of its own. Other countries may station tanks in Germany, but the overall total of both German and foreign tanks cannot exceed 4,704. It is the same with artillery systems. Germany is to be allowed 2,255 of its own but foreign countries can only deploy about half that number on German soil.
German diplomats told RFE/RL that the expansion of NATO with the inclusion of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary created problems which were solved only after months of argument. Russia argued that the admission of these states brought NATO's frontline closer to its borders and it was entitled to special privileges to protect itself.
One argument focused on the maximum limits allowed each country. The officials said it was defused only through a concession by the new member states of NATO. They agreed that they would cut their forces to below the levels originally proposed. The deadline for making these cuts is 2003. As an example, Poland will reduce the number of its main battle tanks from 1,730 to 1,577 by then.
The officials say that in another move to ease Moscow's concerns, several states close to Russia's borders have agreed to limit the number of foreign forces deployed on their territory. In return, Russia agreed to concessions regarding the deployment of forces in Kaliningrad and Pskov.
German diplomats said the purpose of these and other agreements was to decrease tensions in the sensitive border areas between Russia and NATO.
Another problem which was resolved only after long negotiations was the rapid deployment of forces in a crisis situation. Strict adherence to the limits would have meant that only a certain number of foreign forces could be sent to another country involved in a crisis. The United States, in particular, insisted on more flexibility. Finally, Russia agreed with NATO that in these exceptional circumstances two divisions of battle tanks, armored troop carriers, and artillery systems could be temporarily based in the affected country.
The officials said that the so-called 'Flank Areas' covering Russia's St. Petersburg military district and the Caucasus created other problems. Originally, Russia wanted to lift all restrictions on its deployment of troops in these regions. There were objections from Turkey, Georgia, Norway, and some other countries. They argued that, in theory, this could allow Moscow to station its entire armed forces on the borders in the south or the north. Finally, Russia agreed to a system limiting the number of forces it can move in and out of these regions according to the situation.
The document now agreed upon in Vienna is more than 100 pages long.
Diplomats describe it as a "basic structure." More months of negotiation will be needed to refine the rough text and re-examine some of the details, which could lead to new arguments. But the experts are confident it will be ready for signing by the heads of state and government at the OSCE Summit meeting in Istanbul in November.
EU WANTS UKRAINE TO CONTINUE KOSOVA PEACE EFFORTS... The foreign ministers of Germany, Austria, and Finland-- Joschka Fischer, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and Tarja Halonen--along with EU Foreign Relations Commissioner Hans van der Broek, met with President Leonid Kuchma and Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk in Kyiv on 13 April. The EU visitors praised Kuchma's initiatives to settle the Kosova conflict and urged him to pursue Ukrainian peace efforts, Interfax reported. Fischer told journalists after the meeting that, according to the EU's stance, all Serbian troops must leave Kosova to allow refugees to return. He also spoke in favor of a UN-sanctioned military force to keep peace in Kosova. Tarasyuk said Ukraine is ready to send troops to Kosova, provided that international peacekeeping forces operate under UN or OSCE command. JM
...URGES UKRAINE TO IMPROVE HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also said in Kyiv that if Ukraine wants to integrate into Europe it should ensure more efficient protection of human rights, including the abolishment of the death penalty, AP reported. Ukraine wants to sign a free-trade agreement with the EU and join it as an associate member, but has so far failed to meet the Council of Europe's requirements to ban the death penalty and approve other legislation on human rights protection. JM
KUCHMA WANTS REFORMS TO BE MORE SOCIALLY ORIENTED. The Ukrainian president told a meeting at the Labor and Social Policy Ministry on 13 April that "the social dimension of the reforms underway must be their dominant feature and the social factor must be regarded as a major ingredient of stabilization and economic growth." He criticized the performance of the cabinet in the sphere of social policy but ruled out any significant cabinet reshuffles until the presidential elections on 31 October. "The people and myself have run out of patience, [but] a reshuffle would serve no good purpose," he said. JM
HUNGARIAN OFFICIALS TURNED BACK AT YUGOSLAV BORDER. The Yugoslav authorities on 13 April refused entry to two Hungarian custom officials, declaring them persona non grata. The officials were escorting the Russian convoy allowed to proceed to Yugoslavia after being held up at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 and 13 April 1999) and their task was to check that the transport is used for humanitarian purposes and the convoy returns from Yugoslavia. A spokesman for the Hungarian Civil Guards said that due to the incident, similar shipments may not be allowed to transit Hungary in the future, Hungarian media reported. MS
... WHICH IS DISCUSSED WITH FOREIGN GUESTS AS WELL. Visiting Bulgarian Defense Minister Georgi Ananiev on 13 April told journalists that Yugoslavia's accession to the union was "just a declaration of intentions" that met with no response from Russia and Belarus. His host, Defense Minister Victor Babiuc, called it "an attempt to implicate Russia and Belarus in the conflict with NATO," which cannot succeed. Attending a meeting between the visiting U.S. Department of Defense's director for Europe and NATO, General Henry Kievenaar, and Foreign Minister Andrei Plesu, the Romanian chief of staff, General Constantin Degeratu, said Yugoslav accession to the union is "raising legitimate security problems that cannot be ignored by Romania. " Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Simona Miculescu said on 14 April that even if the union is "finalized," its coming into being must not affect the main Romanian foreign policy objectives, which are "integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures," Mediafax reported. MS
German officials and officials with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) say that after years of negotiations, agreement has been reached on the basic elements of a new treaty restricting conventional weaponry in Europe.
German diplomats and OSCE officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL that the basic agreement was reached last week in Vienna, where the negotiations have been based.
The treaty would place limits on the number of artillery, tanks, armored troop carriers, war planes, and attack helicopters which can be held by any individual nation. Another part restricts the number of reinforcements which can be brought in from other countries.
NATO had earlier said the agreement would be "the cornerstone" of a new security regime in Europe. The aim is to ensure that in the future, no single country will be able to maintain military forces at levels which would allow it to hold a dominating position on the European continent.
German and OSCE officials say that the basic agreement concluded in Vienna last week has been accepted by 30 states, including Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and all other members of NATO and the former Warsaw Pact. Confirmation from other capitals was not immediately available.
The officials said the agreed treaty will be presented at this month's NATO Summit meeting in Washington and the final text is expected to be signed at a summit meeting of the OSCE in Istanbul in November.
The new treaty will replace the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty limiting conventional forces on the continent, and several amendments since then.
The German and OSCE officials said it was achieved only after difficult negotiations in which all parties had to give way on some cherished positions.
They said that as an example, both Russia and NATO had to give way on some measures involving the new members of NATO--Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. They said Russia also gave way on some of its positions about its forces in the Caucasus.
The original 1990 CFE treaty was based on the total holdings of two blocs of military power--NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The new treaty would treat every country individually. Each would be allowed a maximum number of conventional forces of its own and each is allowed to deploy only a certain number of foreign forces on its territory to make an overall limit.
German officials said, for example, that Germany will be allowed a maximum of 3,444 main battle tanks of its own. Other countries may station tanks in Germany, but the overall total of both German and foreign tanks cannot exceed 4,704. It is the same with artillery systems. Germany is to be allowed 2,255 of its own but foreign countries can only deploy about half that number on German soil.
German diplomats told RFE/RL that the expansion of NATO with the inclusion of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary created problems which were solved only after months of argument. Russia argued that the admission of these states brought NATO's frontline closer to its borders and it was entitled to special privileges to protect itself.
One argument focused on the maximum limits allowed each country. The officials said it was defused only through a concession by the new member states of NATO. They agreed that they would cut their forces to below the levels originally proposed. The deadline for making these cuts is 2003. As an example, Poland will reduce the number of its main battle tanks from 1,730 to 1,577 by then.
The officials say that in another move to ease Moscow's concerns, several states close to Russia's borders have agreed to limit the number of foreign forces deployed on their territory. In return, Russia agreed to concessions regarding the deployment of forces in Kaliningrad and Pskov.
German diplomats said the purpose of these and other agreements was to decrease tensions in the sensitive border areas between Russia and NATO.
Another problem which was resolved only after long negotiations was the rapid deployment of forces in a crisis situation. Strict adherence to the limits would have meant that only a certain number of foreign forces could be sent to another country involved in a crisis. The United States, in particular, insisted on more flexibility. Finally, Russia agreed with NATO that in these exceptional circumstances two divisions of battle tanks, armored troop carriers, and artillery systems could be temporarily based in the affected country.
The officials said that the so-called 'Flank Areas' covering Russia's St. Petersburg military district and the Caucasus created other problems. Originally, Russia wanted to lift all restrictions on its deployment of troops in these regions. There were objections from Turkey, Georgia, Norway, and some other countries. They argued that, in theory, this could allow Moscow to station its entire armed forces on the borders in the south or the north. Finally, Russia agreed to a system limiting the number of forces it can move in and out of these regions according to the situation.
The document now agreed upon in Vienna is more than 100 pages long.
Diplomats describe it as a "basic structure." More months of negotiation will be needed to refine the rough text and re-examine some of the details, which could lead to new arguments. But the experts are confident it will be ready for signing by the heads of state and government at the OSCE Summit meeting in Istanbul in November.