Russia's decision to terminate the agreements marks its growing effort to distance itself from the West in terms of security and technical co-operation.
Russia has terminated its decades-old military cooperation agreements with Portugal, France and Canada. The decision was formalised in a decree issued by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Friday, local media reported.
According to the Russian government, the three military cooperation agreements signed between 1989 and 2000 with Portugal, Canada and France are no longer strategically relevant in the current context. As a result, they have been terminated simultaneously, without any plans to replace them or establish alternative cooperation mechanisms.
"The following agreements will be terminated: the Agreement between the Government of the USSR and the Government of Canada on military visits, signed in Moscow on 20 November 1989; the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the French Republic on cooperation in the field of defence, signed in Moscow on 4 February 1994; and the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Portuguese Republic on cooperation in the military field, signed in Moscow on 4 August 2000," read the government decree.
The Russian Foreign Ministry must now formally notify Portugal, Canada and France of the decision in order to finalise the corresponding diplomatic procedure and definitively terminate the agreements.
The move reflects Russia's effort to distance itself from the West in terms of security and technical co-operation.
In July, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin had already cancelled a military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany, accusing Berlin of pursuing an "openly hostile policy" and an "increasingly aggressive militaristic stance".
Now it's the turn of Portugal and France, who are both backing a plan presented by the European Commission to channel revenues from around 235 billion euros of Russian assets frozen in the European Union to Kyiv.
Ukraine has relied on financial and arms aid from Western allies since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory has plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War.