MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde focused in a phone conversation on Wednesday on the variety of disarmament issues, including the Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"[They] focused their attention on disarmament issues, including implications of Washington’s announcement of the US withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, preparations for the NPT Review Conference (of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - TASS) and the situation at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva," the ministry pointed out.

The two foreign ministers exchanged views on the pressing international issues, including Sweden’s Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2021.

"[They] emphasized the need to focus on the uniting European agenda," the foreign ministry said.

Lavrov and Linde discussed the efforts aimed at containing the coronavirus spread.

"[They] stated that international cooperation should be strengthened under the coordinating role of the World Health Organization in the wake of the pandemic and its socioeconomic consequences," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.

Among other issues, the ministers discussed the Ukraine crisis and pointed out that there is no alternative to the Minsk accords. The Russian foreign minister stressed that the agreements should be implemented fully and consistently, including direct and sustainable dialogue between the parties to the conflict, namely Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk.

Apart from that, the two top diplomats touched on the Middle East and Venezuela, the ministry added.

 

Bilateral relations

The two ministers focused on the Russian-Swedish relations with an emphasis on further practical cooperation, primarily in the commercial, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian fields.

"The possibility of organizing a committee on trade and economic cooperation in early June of this year is being worked out," the ministry said.

"It is agreed that Russia and Sweden will continue to interact effectively in multilateral regional formats in northern Europe and in the Arctic, also taking into consideration Russia’s future chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021-2023," the ministry added.

Apart from that, the foreign ministers discussed the ministerial session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States held as a videoconference on May 19.

"[They] emphasized the significance of drafting a new strategic document for the Baltic region until 2030 in order to develop the program of measures aimed at strengthening cooperation, which was proposed by the Russian side," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Open Skies Treaty issue

On May 21, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s intention to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, which allows the signatories to conduct flights over each other’s territory to observe military activity. In his statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US decision would enter force in six months. The US side cites alleged Russian violation of the Treaty as a pretext for its withdrawal. Moscow denies all allegations, stating that it continues to adhere to the Treaty, and puts forth its own accusations against the US.

The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in March 1992 in Helsinki by 23 member-nations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It was drafted with Moscow’s active participation. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the treaty is a major tool of strengthening trust and security. The Open Skies’ main goals are to build transparency, render assistance in monitoring compliance with existing or future arms control agreements, broaden possibilities for preventing crises and managing crisis situations. The accord 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.