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Russia officially leaves Open Skies Treaty

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Russia officially leaves Open Skies Treaty


20.12.2021

Photo credit: E. Samarin / mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)

Russia has finalized its withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, RIA Novosti reports.

The agreement was signed almost 30 years ago, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. At the time, it made a significant contribution to building confidence in Europe. The treaty allows its participants to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over the territory of other participants. 

The United States withdrew from the treaty a little over a year ago, accusing Russia of allegedly using the data obtained during the surveillance flights to select the most important objects of American and European infrastructure.

Moscow recalled that the flights of aircraft of the United States and its allies were concentrated over Russian strategic objects. Moreover, Washington violated the treaty multiple times. 

Thirty-tree countries still remain part of the agreement. 

Russkiy Mir

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