Thirty countries gathered at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna Tuesday to review the treaty, which was adopted in 1999 and has has still not been implemented.

But diplomatic sources said the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova, a prerequisite for ending the deadlock between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, seemed unlikely before the conference on Friday.

The CFE treaty, signed in 1990 between NATO and the Warsaw Pact of Central and Eastern European Communist states, allowed the destruction of 60,000 tanks, vehicles, artillery pieces, planes and helicopters.

Under it, the number of armed forces was also reduced from 5.7 million troops to less than 3 million, and inspections and transparency were reinforced.

An adaptated treaty, signed in 1999 in Istanbul, has been ratified by only four countries however, including Russia.

NATO countries have said they will do so only when Moscow fulfils its commitments to leave three Georgian bases and withdraw 20,000 tons of ammunition from the breakaway Moldovan republic of Transdniestria.

French ambassador Yves Doutriaux said Tuesday he hoped the adapted treaty, which "will guarantee a more flexible and transparent arms control regime," would be implemented.

He also welcomed a March 31 agreement for the withdrawal of Russian forces from two bases in Georgia.

But Doutriaux added, "we hope the evacuation of troops and munition stocks still present on Moldovan soil will resume soon. The lack of action on this issue for two years cannot continue."

Russia has shown it is unhappy with NATO and the establishment of US military bases in two new member states, Romania and Bulgaria.

In December, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said "the expansion of NATO and US installations up to Russia's borders calls into question the future of the CFE Treaty".

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