MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Many member nations of the Treaty on Open Skies believe that the United States’ withdrawal from the treaty in November is already inevitable, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS on Monday after a videoconference on the treaty.
"Notably, many participants in the videoconference spoke about the United States’ withdrawal in November as something foregone. It looks like many have come to terms with this fact," he said.
US President Donald Trump declared on May 21 that Washington was going to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, which provides for inspection flights over member countries’ territories to monitor military activities. He motivated this step by Russia’s alleged violation of the treaty. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a written statement that the decision to withdraw from the treaty will come into effect in six months after May 22. Moscow denies the accusations saying it is committed to the treaty and puts forward counterclaims.
The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in March 1992 in Helsinki by 23 member nations of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The main purposes of the open skies regime are to develop transparency, render assistance in monitoring compliance with the existing or future arms control agreements and broaden possibilities for preventing crises and managing crisis situations. The treaty establishes a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants. Now, the treaty has more than 30 signatory states. Russia ratified the Treaty on Open Skies on May 26, 2001.