States Parties to CFE Treaty to hold Extraordinary Conference

VIENNA, 8 June 2007 - The 30 States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty), will begin a meeting on 11 June in Vienna following a request by the Russian Federation that an Extraordinary Conference be held.

The meeting is expected to last five days, but could be extended. It will not be open to the press. However, there will be a five-minute photo opportunity at 14:45 on Tuesday 12 June in the Hofburg Congress Centre's Neuer Saal.

The conference will be chaired by Luxembourg.

The CFE Treaty was signed in November 1990 and entered into force in 1992. It provides for significant cuts in the conventional military arsenals of NATO and former Warsaw Pact States. Since it entered into force, more than 60,000 battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters have been taken out of service.

Although not an OSCE document or event, the CFE Treaty was negotiated in parallel with talks among participating States of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe - the OSCE forerunner - on confidence-building measures.

For background on the CFE Treaty and Article XXI, under which the Russian Federation called the meeting, please see //www.osce.org/conferences/cfe_2007.html

For admittance to the Hofburg Conference Centre for the photo opportunity, please bring your OSCE badge or a valid press card to the security desk (main entrance from the Heldenplatz). Parking is available for the press during the event in the OSCE-reserved parking area on Heldenplatz. Temporary parking permits must be collected from the security desk.