Quote Originally Posted by Fuchs View Post
The CFE treaty involved cuts for Soviet Union/Russia as well, but made allowances because Russia has Asian defence needs.
http://www.osce.org/library/14087
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_...rces_in_Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adapted..._Europe_Treaty
(Look at the ratifications list!)

In the end, the CFE treaties were quite unimportant because the treaty parties have voluntarily cut deeper than required.

I remember that 98 mm mortars were developed in Poland and other countries to circumvent the limitation on ordnance of 100 mm calibre and greater - they were never produced in quantity because the ordnance limits proved to be irrelevant.

The Russians have furthermore begun to scrap their hordes of obsolete MBTs long ago. Their inventory of T-55s and T-62s is melting - literally.
Fuchs---the key is they are still not in compliance on the numbers and yes they are melting but it is the old 55/62 and to some degree the 72s which really were for export anyway.

It is the numbers and their argument was they were at war with the jihadi's and could not come into compliance---and what has been the argument for their non compliance with the numbers in Georgia under the EUMM---they did not even mention it nor has the West.

The West took the numbers and reduced what they had in their then current inventories under the thought that hey the Cold War is over and Russia seems to be getting to a more peaceful point so hey let's save defense money and go down on our overall defense budgets using OCSE as the excuse. Besides who needs tanks and APCs in AFG or anywhere else for that matter.

That was in the end a massive mistake and now they are only able to muster what planes, mine clearing ships and AWCS. Even the German tank brigades say in Amberg and other locations have been decommissioned in the current German downsizing that is still going on.