Russia has decided to end its participation in meetings of the joint consultative group on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, ending one of its last modes of participation on the 1990 security treaty.

Russia’s participation in the treaty was first halted in 2007.

“The Russian Federation has taken the decision to halt its participation in meetings of the [consulting group] from March 11, 2015. Therefore, Russia is ending its actions in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, announced in 2007, completely,” a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

Moscow has asked Belarus to represent Russia’s interests in the group starting from Wednesday, the statement said.

According to the Ministry, the move does not mean that Moscow refuses to continue further dialogue on control of conventional armed forces in Europe – “if and when our partners are ready for it,” the Ministry official said in the statement, adding that future work on the project should serve the interests of both Russia and other European states.