US withdraws from Open Skies Treaty with Russia: officials

[corbe]

US withdraws from Open Skies Treaty with Russia: officials

Lucas Tomlinson  5 hrs ago

The United States officially pulled out of another arms control pact with Russia on Sunday, marking the end of a six-month notification process informing Moscow, U.S. officials told Fox News.

The Trump administration withdrew from the Open Skies Treaty, which was signed between former Cold War foes in 1992 to set up unarmed, reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory to collect data on military forces.

However, the U.S. has accused Russia of violating the agreement for years, barring flights over Russian territory, including Kaliningrad where nuclear weapons are suspected of being present and in range of major European capitals.

"On May 22, 2020, the United States exercised its right pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article XV of the Treaty on Open Skies by providing notice to the Treaty Depositaries and to all States Parties of its decision to withdraw from the Treaty, effective six months from the notification date," Cale Brown, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said in a statement. "Six months having elapsed, the U.S. withdrawal took effect on November 22, 2020, and the United States is no longer a State Party to the Treaty on Open Skies."

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-withdraws-from-open-skies-treaty-with-russia-officials/ar-BB1bfETg?ocid=msedgntp

[Elderberry]

U.S. Officially Withdraws From Open Skies Treaty; Moscow Says 'All Options Are Open To Us'

Radio Free Europe 11/22/2020

https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-to-withdraw-from-open-skies-treaty-moscow-says-all-options-are-open-to-us-/30962981.html

The United States formally withdrew on November 22 from the Open Skies Treaty, an 18-year-old arms control and verification agreement that Washington repeatedly accused Moscow of violating.

The withdrawal is the latest blow to the system of international arms control that U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly scorned, complaining that Washington was being either deceived or unfairly restrained in its military capabilities.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the move, noting six months had expired since notice of the pending exit had been issued and saying "the U.S. withdrawal took effect on November 22, 2020, and the United States is no longer a State Party to the Treaty on Open Skies."

The National Security Council confirmed the withdrawal and added that "Russia flagrantly violated [the treaty] for years."

    (1/2) “Today marks six months since the United States submitted our notice of withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies. We are now no longer a party to this treaty that Russia flagrantly violated for years.

    — NSC (@WHNSC) November 22, 2020

It quoted national-security adviser Robert O'Brien as saying the move was part of an effort to "put America first by withdrawing us from outdated treaties and agreements that have benefited our adversaries at the

expense of our national security."

More at link.