News

The Russian Federation has informed Lithuania that it terminated the Bilateral Agreement on Additional Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs) between the Republic of Lithuania and the Russian Federation, which was drawn up in 2001.

This agreement stipulated that parties would exchange information on conventional armed forces of the Republic of Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation on an annual basis in accordance with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). The parties had also agreed to organise one additional evaluation visit each year, as set out in the Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs), which used to be conducted by military arms control inspectors.

Back in 2007 the Russian Federation suspended the CFE Treaty and stopped the exchange of information with Lithuania in accordance with the bilateral agreement in 2008. Currently, the remaining part of the implementation of the agreement has been renounced.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry regrets Russia’s unilateral decision, which reduces transparency and confidence-building measures between the neighbouring countries, as well as breaks away from tradition of constructive cooperation of military inspectors.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs) is a politically binding instrument that includes an annual exchange of military information on forces, weaponry, planned military exercises and other military activities of states, evaluation and inspection visits which aim to provide transparency, build confidence, enhance military cooperation about unusual and unscheduled activities of military forces, as well as to contribute to conflict prevention.