The German-Russian transit agreement is the first agreement by which the Russian Federation has granted a NATO state the right of transit of its troops. The temporary deployment in Germany of the armed forces of the PfP States and other third countries is subject to the conclusion of an agreement under the Visiting Forces Act of 20 July 1995 (BGBl. 1995 II p.554, BGBl. 2002 II p.2482). Under Article 1 of that law, the Federal Government may conclude such agreements with foreign States on the entry and short-term presence of its armed forces in Germany for the purposes of exercises, land transits and training by decree-law. So far, the Federal Government has concluded such agreements with Poland (Agreement of 23 August 2000) and the Czech Republic (Agreement of 31 July 2003). . . .