Russian CFE-Limited Arms Leave Georgia

Two trainloads of Russian heavy weaponry left Georgia in December, fulfilling a Russian pledge made in November 1999 to reduce its arms limited by the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty in Georgia by the end of 2000 to a level not exceeding 153 tanks, 241 armored combat vehicles (ACVs), and 140 artillery systems. The two trains each carried a total of approximately 45 CFE-limited weapons. Another train filled with Russian ammunition and military hardware also left Georgia in December.

With its CFE-related weapons reductions in Georgia finished, Russia is now expected to concentrate on withdrawing all of its CFE-capped weapons from Moldova by the end of 2001 and to complete a total withdraw of all Russian forces from the country before the close of the following year. A train from Moldova carrying Russian military equipment not covered by the CFE Treaty arrived on Russian territory December 7. The United States pressed Russia in November to move faster on its withdrawal from Moldova. (See ACT, December 2000.)