Russia terminates decades-old military pacts with Portugal, France and Canada
Europe, News December 8, 2025 Comments Off on Russia terminates decades-old military pacts with Portugal, France and Canada3 minute read
Russia has terminated three longstanding military cooperation agreements with Canada, France, and Portugal. The agreements, signed between 1989 and 2000, were declared no longer strategically relevant by Russian authorities.
The new decree instructs the Russian Foreign Ministry to officially notify Canada, France, and Portugal of the termination of their respective agreements.
The pacts were originally concluded during a period of improved relations between Moscow and Western governments following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The 1989 pact with Canada was signed just weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, at a moment when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was attempting to rebuild relations with Western governments and signal a shift away from Cold War confrontation.
The agreement focused on military-to-military contacts and was intended to demonstrate goodwill during a period of rapid geopolitical change.
The 1994 agreement with France came as President Boris Yeltsin sought deeper integration with European security structures and pushed for a more cooperative security environment on the continent.
Yeltsin had hoped Russia could eventually join NATO or establish a special partnership with the alliance, and the treaty with Paris committed both countries to hold consultations during crises and work toward building “a network of peace and solidarity” in Europe.
The 2000 agreement with Portugal reflected what researchers describe as the most cooperative phase in Russia-Portugal relations in the 1990s and early 2000s, when high-level visits were frequent, and both sides emphasized dialogue despite Portugal’s NATO membership and broader alliance commitments.
Worsening Relations with the West
The Kremlin’s decision marks another step in the deterioration of relations between Russia and Western countries. Russian authorities have accused NATO of encroaching on its borders and have partly blamed the alliance for the war in Ukraine without providing evidence.
Moscow’s opposition to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership was also a central element in the leaked 28-point US-Russian draft deal intended to end the war, which Kyiv and analysts say would leave open the possibility of future Russian aggression.
The latest announcement follows a similar move in July, when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin cancelled a 1996 military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany. At the time, the Foreign Ministry accused Berlin of an “openly hostile policy” and “increasingly aggressive militaristic aspirations.”
Portugal and France Support EU Plan on Frozen Russian Assets
The move comes as Portugal and France express support for proposals by the European Commission to use frozen Russian assets to provide loans to Ukraine.
Around $250 billion in Russian state assets remain immobilised in the European Union, most of them held at Euroclear in Belgium. EU officials have been debating how to use these funds to help Ukraine, which faces an estimated $65 billion budget shortfall over the next two years, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Ukraine has depended on Western military and financial assistance since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Discussions on how to mobilize frozen assets continue as Kyiv seeks to maintain economic stability and secure long-term support from its allies.
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