SoJ, my understanding (which I admit may be biased differently than yours!) is that Russia has been systematically in breach of its obligations under the CFE. There were a few good reasons (limits applying to the Soviet Union needed to be adapted to the fact that there suddenly was Russia + whole new countries in the most sensitive areas), but a lot of bad reasons. You mentioned Chechnya, TDR and Georgia, but Russian forces have been interfering in a number of republics and autonomous republics.

The goal of the CFE was precisely to limit the possibility for mayhem and tension in what were already tense regions; Russia has totally forgotten the spirit of the initial agreement in its desire to maintain massive forces to bear against (or even in) each of its former republics, effectively treating each of these as potential enemies (and often doing all it could to actually make that true...)

I am not sure that giving in to Russia now is such a god idea. The only reason there has been progress in Georgia is because you now have US commandos there (and Western controlled oil & gas from the Caspian limiting Russia's very real leverage on the energy front).

don't forget as well that local military bosses effectively run their own little fiefs, with little oversight from Moscow, and they have induged in all sorts of very profitable trafficking that feeds on conflict, war, blockades and the like.

Let Putin shows that he controls his military, otherwise these treaties are meaningless anyway.

But thanks for flagging the issue!

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes