With no sign of US returning to fold, Russia is preparing to withdraw from 'Open Skies' treaty - Foreign Ministry
Russia is making preparations for the country's withdrawal from the 'Open Skies' Treaty, a key trust-building agreement of the late Cold War. It comes after the US unilaterally left the arrangement last November.
The country’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday in which it confirmed that “due to the lack of progress in negotiations around the continuation of the treaty under new circumstances, the Ministry is authorized to announce the start of preparations for withdrawal.” The main reason behind Moscow's move is the failure to secure assurances that intelligence gathered by members of the American-led NATO military bloc will not be passed to the US.
In the statement, Russian diplomats added that “the US arrogantly ignored our proposals to resolve these problems... Realizing that Washington would need counter-steps to address Russian concerns in order to reach an agreement, they interrupted the consultations and accused our country of ‘violations’ of the Treaty. These far-fetched accusations were used by them as a pretext first to propose ‘countermeasures’ and then to withdraw from the Treaty.”
In May last year, President Donald Trump confirmed that the US would withdraw from the pact, which allows members to fly mutually beneficial reconnaissance flights in order to observe the buildup of troops and movement of nuclear weapons. First proposed in 1955 by American President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the agreement was finally penned in 2002. Its aim is to reduce the risk of suspicion and misunderstandings leading to military conflicts.
With no sign of US returning to fold, Russia is preparing to withdraw from 'Open Skies' treaty - Foreign Ministry
Russia is making preparations for the country's withdrawal from the 'Open Skies' Treaty, a key trust-building agreement of the late Cold War. It comes after the US unilaterally left the arrangement last November.
