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Russian planes take part in a surveillance mission under the Open Sky Treaty – Photo: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
In a statement issued on January 15, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would begin internal procedures before officially notifying members of the Open Sky Treaty. As a general rule, a country’s membership will end 6 months after the official notification of withdrawal.
The open sky treaty was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 2002, allowing 35 member states to conduct surveillance flights over each other’s airspace. Proponents of the treaty believe this will help nations build strategic trust, especially between nuclear powers like Russia and the United States.
However, both Moscow and Washington accuse each other of violating the agreement by restricting flight zones or using other technical barriers. On November 22, 2020, the US officially withdrew from the treaty after six months of announcing its intention.
Washington’s move at the time was met with concern and criticism from several countries, including Russia and Germany. China, a country without a treaty, also criticized the United States, saying Washington’s actions set a bad precedent for future arms control efforts.
At a press conference on January 15, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there remains a danger that relations between Russia and the United States will continue to erode under President Joe Biden. He stressed that it would be counterproductive to use “intimidating” language to speak to Moscow.
“The ball is on the American side,” Zakharova said, suggesting that improving relations should depend on Washington’s attitude toward Moscow. “The United States has even put Russia on the list of its enemies,” argued the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The new offensive strategic arms reduction treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia is expected to expire next February. However, the two parties have yet to reach a common voice in the New START extension for many more years. This treaty was signed in 2010 and entered into force a year later.
