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Russia says US claims of Open Skies Treaty breach ‘unfounded’

"The Russian delegation strongly rejected these attacks, calling on the parties to the Treaty to abandon the practice of double standards," the Foreign Ministry said
Russian Foreign Ministry  ITAR-TASS/Gennadiy Khamelyanin
Russian Foreign Ministry
© ITAR-TASS/Gennadiy Khamelyanin

MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/. Washington’s accusations that Moscow is allegedly violating the Treaty on Open Skies are unfounded, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, stressing that the United States and its NATO allies in turn fail to comply with the document.

The ministry said it regrets that some participants of this week's Third Open Skies Treaty Review Conference in Vienna, namely the US representatives, made "unfounded accusations" against Moscow.

"The Russian delegation strongly rejected these attacks, calling on the parties to the Treaty to abandon the practice of double standards," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

At the conference in Vienna, the participants summed up the results of the Treaty implementation over the past five years and discussed the observation flights over the territories of the member-states, aircraft parks and other issues.

The delegations stressed the importance of the Treaty in an effort to ensure transparency and strengthen confidence and security. The next such conference is due to be held in 2020.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and has 34 member states. It entered into force in 2002. Surveillance flights are conducted over Russia, the United States, Canada and European countries.

The key tasks of the Treaty are to develop transparency, monitor the fulfillment of armament control agreements, and expand capabilities to prevent crises in the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations.