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Conventional arms control

Updated: 30 April 2026

NATO is firmly committed to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, with a focus on promoting transparency, reducing risk and enhancing security. The Alliance provides an essential consultative and decision-making forum for its members on all aspects of conventional arms control, including confidence- and security-building measures.

NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept – the Alliance’s core policy document – highlights the continued important role of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, alongside deterrence and defence, in delivering strategic stability
NATO supports conventional arms control efforts by assisting Allies in their implementation of three key international instruments: the Vienna Document 2011 on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (VD11), the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and the Open Skies Treaty (OST).
Together, these three provide a framework for military limits and for confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs). This has helped all parties reduce risk, increase transparency, ensure verification and compliance, and ultimately enhance security.
Russia’s withdrawal from the OST in 2021, its withdrawal from the CFE Treaty in 2023 and its non-adherence to VD11 (under the guise of the COVID-19 pandemic) have all eroded Euro-Atlantic security.
Beyond these three instruments, NATO Allies support a number of other international initiatives aimed at reducing the threat from the illicit traffic of small arms and light weapons (SALW). All NATO Allies are party to the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which seeks to improve national legislation and controls over illicit small arms and light weapons.
The 2014 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) establishes common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms. NATO supports the implementation of this treaty as appropriate.
NATO Allies assist partner countries with humanitarian demining activities, as well as the safe destruction of surplus stocks of mines, arms and munitions. They also assist with the management and safe storage of SALW and their ammunition as a contribution to combating their illicit diversion and traffic.

Conventional arms control and confidence- and security-building measures

Vienna Document

The Vienna Document 2011 on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (VD11), which applies to all participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is a politically binding agreement designed to promote mutual trust and transparency about each participating State's military forces and activities. Under the VD11 (as well as the earlier VD90, VD92, VD94 and VD99) thousands of inspections and evaluation visits have been conducted, including hundreds of visits to airbases and other military facilities, ensuring compliance and verification. Additionally, dozens of demonstrations have been held between military contacts, showcasing new types of major weapon and equipment systems. Annually, all participating States have shared information on the structure, composition, size and activities of their military forces.

In 2019, NATO Allies (together with then-partners Finland and Sweden, now NATO members), submitted to the OSCE the most comprehensive modernisation proposal for the Vienna Document since 1994. The proposal aimed to reinforce confidence, build mutual predictability, reduce risks and help prevent unintentional conflict.

Russia expressed no interest in the modernisation proposal. Indeed, it became increasingly selective in its implementation of the VD11, until ceasing to abide by it at all – citing the COVID-19 pandemic – following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty

The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) has been referred to as a "cornerstone of European security". It imposed – for the first time in European history – legal and verifiable limits on the force structure of its 30 States Parties, which extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains.

The Treaty is credited with bringing about the destruction of over 100,000 pieces of “treaty limited equipment” (tanks, armoured combat vehicles, artillery pieces, attack helicopters and combat aircraft), verified by almost 6,000 on-site inspections. Through these measures, the CFE Treaty achieved its original objective of creating balance and mitigating the possibility of a surprise conventional attack from either the Western Group of States Parties (NATO) or the Eastern Group of States Parties (Warsaw Pact).

An Adapted CFE Treaty (ACFE) was signed in 1999, addressing the rapidly changing realities of the post-Cold War era. Although the ACFE Treaty went far in adjusting the Treaty to the new security environment, it was not ratified by the Allied States Parties because of Russia’s failure to fully meet its commitments regarding withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, on which the Allies' agreement to the ACFE was based. Thus, the original CFE Treaty remained in place.

In 2007, Russia suspended its adherence to the Treaty. In response, NATO Allies continuously attempted to engage Russia, seeking to establish a constructive framework for negotiations to modernise the Treaty. After more than four years of stalled negotiations, NATO Allies announced their decisions to cease implementing certain CFE obligations with respect to Russia in November 2011, while still continuing to fully implement their obligations with respect to all other CFE States Parties. However, Allies also stated clearly that these decisions were reversible, should the Russian Federation return to full implementation.

Following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and military aggression in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Allies condemned these actions and noted that Russia’s non-implementation of the CFE Treaty (and its selective implementation of the Vienna Document and Open Skies Treaty) had contributed to undermining peace, security and stability across the region. In subsequent years, Allies reaffirmed that they remained committed to conventional arms control as a key element of Euro-Atlantic security, and called on Russia to fully return to its commitments. Allies continued to note Russia's failure to abide by its CFE treaty obligations during its successive rounds of military build-up throughout 2021 and in early 2022, and strongly condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In 2023, Russia officially withdrew from the CFE Treaty. NATO Allies condemned Russia’s decision. Allied States Parties noted that abiding by the Treaty, while Russia was no longer bound by such constraints, would be unsustainable. Consequently, Allied States Parties suspended operation of the CFE Treaty in accordance with their rights under international law. This decision was fully supported by all NATO Allies. The six non-Allied States Parties (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Moldova) also suspended their operation of the Treaty.

Treaty on Open Skies

The legally binding Treaty on Open Skies (OST) allows for unarmed aerial observation to collect imagery anywhere over the entirety of its States Parties. It entered into force in 2002 and to date, more than 1,500 observation missions have been conducted. As a confidence- and security-building measure, its products provide added transparency and support to verification activities carried out on the ground under other treaties and agreements. The OST necessitates extensive cooperation regarding the use of aircraft and their sensors, thereby adding to openness and confidence.

In response to Russia selectively implementing and repeatedly violating the Treaty’s provisions and hindering its effective implementation, the United States withdrew from the Treaty in 2020. Russia followed by withdrawing from the Treaty in 2021.

Small arms and light weapons (SALW) and mine action (MA)

The illicit traffic of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and their ammunition – including handheld guns, grenades and other types of portable weapons – feeds global terrorist activities and perpetuates violence, particularly in post-conflict zones. Anti-personnel mines and other explosive remnants of war can continue to threaten the safety of local populations long after hostilities have ceased.

Consistent with the UN Programme of Action (PoA) to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, in which all NATO Allies participate, NATO undertakes a wide range of activities to work with its partners to combat the illicit diversion and traffic of these weapons, ensure their safe and secure management and storage, as well as to assist partners in their safe destruction and decommissioning at the end of their lifecycle.

NATO also supports, as appropriate, the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty, which establishes common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.

NATO Trust Funds are used to assist partner countries with humanitarian demining activities, as well as the safe destruction of stocks of anti-personnel landmines, surplus munitions, unexploded ordnance and SALW. They are also used to assist partner countries in the management and safe storage of SALW and their ammunition, as a contribution to combating their illicit diversion and traffic.

Learn more: Small arms and light weapons (SALW) and mine action (MA)

NATO bodies involved in conventional arms control

The NATO forum to discuss and take forward arms control issues is the Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Committee (ADNC).

The NATO School in Oberammergau (Germany) conducts numerous courses in the fields of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. They are related to CFE, VD11, OST, WMD, and SALW and MA. Most of them are also open to NATO’s partners.