US withdraws from Open Skies Treaty

Americans will no longer be able to fly over the territories of the parties to the agreement to monitor military activities, as well as have access to data obtained during flights.

The United States is no longer a party to the Open Skies Treaty (OON). Sunday, November 22, will be six months since the US administration sent an official notice of withdrawal to the countries participating in the treaty. The main reason for this step was Russia’s non-compliance with the treaty.

Therefore, the United States will no longer be able to fly over any territory of the parties to the agreement to monitor military activity, as well as have access to data obtained during flights.

In a May 21 statement from Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Washington may be willing to reconsider its withdrawal decision if Russia “demonstrates a return to full compliance with this confidence-building treaty.” The president of the United States, Donald Trump, later announced the possibility of reaching a new agreement.

For the past six months, the US side has not announced any agreement with Russia. Moscow, in turn, has repeatedly stressed the unacceptability of the conditions proposed by Washington to cancel the decision, calling them an ultimatum.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 by representatives of 23 OSCE member states. At the moment, the number of participants in the document has reached 34, including the United States and Russia. As part of the agreement, the parties can conduct observation flights over each other’s territories, as well as use photo and video footage.

The Russian plane flew over the White House and the Pentagon

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