Statement on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty

Today marks a milestone in our common effort to build a transatlantic community where cooperation, not confrontation, is the key to security. The parties to the CFE Treaty have achieved a goal that was thought unattainable less than a decade ago: They have destroyed more than 50,000 pieces of military equipment to establish a stable balance of conventional forces in Europe at levels dramatically lower than existed only a few years ago. CFE's implementation—including the conduct of thousands of onsite inspections and the exchange of detailed information on military forces, in addition to the destruction of thousands of pieces of armor, artillery, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters—is tangible evidence that the era of cold war confrontation is behind us.

We owe this remarkable achievement to the determination of the 30 governments represented in the CFE Joint Consultative Group. As envisaged when the CFE Treaty was signed in 1990, this group has been the key to finding cooperative solutions to countless implementation problems, large and small. You have made the treaty work.

CFE has been a flexible instrument in promoting our common security. This has been demonstrated by our ability together in the joint statement approved today to agree on the broad outline of a solution to the issue of the flanks, which preserves the integrity of the treaty and does not diminish the security of any state. I urge all parties to this landmark treaty to work intensively to complete the task of resolving this issue as soon as possible.

There are other implementation concerns as well, relating to equipment destruction and other issues. The United States expects all parties to CFE to meet their treaty obligations. This must be done if we are to achieve the full promise of this treaty. Working through these remaining problems will be a key task for the Joint Consultative Group in the days to come. Given the record of the past, I know that our work will succeed.