China hopes the controversy over Russia's pulling out of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty will be resolved through diplomatic and political dialogue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said yesterday.

On July 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had signed into law a decree suspending Russia's participation in the CFE treaty.

He said the decision was "motivated by extraordinary circumstances that affected the security of Russia".

Russia had been threatening to withdraw from the treaty after the US planned to build a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.

Liu said China had noted Russia's declaration and its security concerns and hoped the parties would resolve the disputes through dialogue and consultation, and work jointly to safeguard regional and global security and stability.

China has always seen anti-missile systems as being harmful to the global strategic balance and stability and non-conducive to building mutual trust, Liu said.

The CFE, signed by 22 countries in Paris on November 19, 1990, is an agreement between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members and Warsaw Pact nations. It was aimed at establishing a military balance in Europe by cutting weapons of conventional forces.

Xinhua

(China Daily 07/20/2007 page2)