From Reuters: Russia on Sunday published its proposal for a new Euro-Atlantic security treaty that would restrict its ability to use military force unilaterally if the United States and its European allies agreed to do the same.

President Dmitry Medvedev has said the European Security Treaty is needed to replace Cold War-era institutions like NATO that are ill-suited to defusing tensions in a multipolar world, but his proposals have received a muted reception in the West…

The document, published on the Kremlin web site (here), reaffirms the role of the United Nations Security Council, in which Russia has a veto, as the ultimate arbiter of international conflict…

Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs, told Reuters: “It is hard to imagine anyone agreeing to it in its current form. The Kremlin more likely sees it as an opening point for a broader discussion…”

Lukyanov said Western powers would be particularly wary of Article 7 which says “every party shall be entitled to consider an armed attack against any other party an armed attack against itself.”

This could give Russia justification to use force if one of its allies was attacked, and could require other signatories to help Moscow in a future conflict with, for example, Iran or China, he said.

A clause that appears targeted at NATO operations not sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council, would require signatories to make sure that any military alliances they are members of do not violate the principles of the U.N. charter. (photo: Yuri Kadobnov/EPA)