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The US government announced in May that it was withdrawing from the Open Skies Agreement between NATO nations and former members of the Warsaw Pact.
Washington has accused Moscow of violating the treaty. As a result, the United States no longer feels committed to the treaty.
The Open Skies Agreement allows 34 signatories to conduct reconnaissance flights in the partner’s airspace several times a year. The contract was concluded in 1992 and entered into force in 2002.
Reconnaissance flights are primarily considered a confidence measure. To date, more than 1,500 have been held, attended by representatives of observer and supervised countries.
“In the absence of progress in removing obstacles to the continued operation of the Open Skies Agreement under the new conditions, the Russian Foreign Ministry is authorized to announce the commencement of internal procedures for the withdrawal of Russia from the Open Skies Agreement “. Once completed, the corresponding notification will be sent to the depositories, ”says the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Representatives of the ministry indicated that on November 22 last year, the United States withdrew from the Open Skies Agreement under a “fictitious pretext.”
“In this way, the balance of interests of the participating States, which was achieved with the conclusion of the agreement, seriously damaged its operation and undermined the role of the Open Skies Agreement as an instrument to generate trust and security,” said the Ministry of Relations Exteriors.
Russia has made concrete proposals in line with the main provisions of the agreement to maintain its viability under the new conditions. Unfortunately, it must be said that they did not receive the support of the US allies, “the statement read.
The question of Russia’s continued participation in the Open Skies Agreement came up last year when the United States withdrew. Moscow demanded assurances from the European states participating in the agreement that data collected during flights over Russian territory will not be transferred to the United States.
For its part, Europe is of the opinion that this is foreseen in the Treaty, so no additional regulation is necessary.
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