President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday suspending Russian participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty, the Kremlin said.

The suspension, effective from December 12, is part of a wave of increasingly aggressive moves directed against the West ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections.

The United States, the European Union and NATO have all urged Russia not to pull out of the treaty, widely considered a cornerstone of European security.

But Russia has said it will not abide by the treaty as NATO members have not ratified an amended version of the pact. "President Putin signed the federal law on suspending the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty," the Kremlin said in a statement.

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