Yerevan, 14 May 1997 (RFE/RL) -- The Parliament of Armenia today ratified amendments to the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, after receiving assurances that the country's security will not be impaired.
The vote was 120 in favour, with four against and one abstention. The amendments upate the 1990 treaty's so-called "flank limitations." In the case of Armenia, that means it must transfer to Russia part of its arms quota under the treaty.
During debate, deputies were told the Armenian defence ministry had dropped its reservations to some clauses of the revised treaty. Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian said the amendments meet the security concerns of Armenia. Some deputies had expressed concern about the new arragements.
Today's approval means Armenia will meet the May 15 deadline set for ratification of the amendments by the 30 signatory states. Signatories are NATO members, Russia, Ukraine, the Central Europeans, Moldova, Belarus and Armenia, as well as Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan.