Russia violated another international obligation by refusing to share data on its armed forces with the OSCE, as required by the Vienna Document.
This was reported by the press service of the American Arms Control Association.
The refusal to participate in the annual data exchange comes at a time when Russia is waging war against Ukraine, suspending its participation in the Russia-US Strategic Nuclear Arms Treaty and taking other steps to undermine Europe's security architecture.
Moscow's decision was first announced on January 16, 2022 in a letter signed by the head of the Russian arms control delegation in Vienna, Konstantin Gavrilov, to the ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the OSCE, Sinisa Benkun, who at the time also headed the Security and Cooperation Forum. .
Gavrilov said that the Russian Federation will not provide public information about its armed forces for 2023, as stipulated in Chapter I of the Vienna Document, essentially suspending its participation in the annual exchange, which takes place annually until December 15.
In his letter, Gavrilov wrote that Russia's decision was made in response to the Czech Republic's decision to stop fulfilling its obligations to Moscow. At the same time, the Russian delegation stated that it would not provide data due to a similar refusal by Ukraine for 2023.
"We assume that if the Russian Federation exchanges its national data report, it will probably end up in the hands of the above-mentioned participating countries," added the Russian ambassador.
The Vienna Document, overseen by the OSCE, is a confidence-building and security-building mechanism that enables the 57 participating countries to observe and report to each other on their military exercises and other relevant developments to prevent misinterpretation of these actions. This is one of the few remaining mechanisms of political and military cooperation in Europe.
In addition, the Financial Times reported that Putin decided on a full-scale war against Ukraine after consulting a very narrow circle of people. The publication predicted how the dictator would fight further.
