BRUSSELS/MOSCOW. July 24 (Interfax) - New agreements to replace the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty are not needed, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in an interview with Interfax on Tuesday.
"The CFE Treaty is such an important document and represents years of extensive negotiations and discussions that there is every reason to strive - on all sides - for preserving this landmark Treaty and bringing the Adapted CFE Treaty into force," Scheffer commenting on a recent statement by the Russian Defense Ministry that either a new agreement on conventional armed forces in Europe should be develop or the adapted CFE Treaty should be modernized.
"Don't forget that the Adapted Treaty reflects not the realities of the bygone, bloc vs. bloc era, but those of the new cooperative security situation in Europe," he said.
Asked whether NATO is ready to offer new proposals following Russia's decision to suspend the CFE Treaty this December, Scheffer said that NATO member states "expressed their disappointment and concern with Russia's unilateral decision."
NATO member states "also reiterated their full commitment to the CFE regime and called upon all signatories to continue fully implementing all the obligations assumed under the Treaty and its associated documents," he said.
"We have invited Russia to hold constructive and creative dialogue on this important issue. The NATO-Russia Council framework that has served us so well over the last five years can also play a helpful role," Scheffer said.
"On 25th July another meeting of NATO-Russia Council ambassadors at NATO HQ will provide a good opportunity in this respect," he said.
"We are therefore ready to continue dialogue among all states party to the Treaty," Scheffer said.
For the full version of Scheffer's interview, visit the www.interfax.ru or www.interfax.com websites.