US to ‘officially pull out of Open Skies arms control treaty with Russia TODAY’ after giving Moscow six months’ notice
THE US is withdrawing from its Open Skies arms control treaty with Russia TODAY after giving Moscow six months' notice.
Donald Trump's administration warned back in May that it would withdraw from the 35-nation agreement allowing unarmed surveillance flights over member countries.
Officials have confirmed the split to .
It's the administration’s latest move to pull the country out of a major global treaty.
In May, his officials accused Russia of repeatedly violated the pact’s terms.
Senior officials said the pullout would formally take place in six months, after Trump criticized Russia's lack of compliance.
“I think we have a very good relationship with Russia.
"But Russia didn’t adhere to the treaty. So until they adhere, we will pull out,” Trump told reporters at the time.
NATO allies and other countries like Ukraine had pressed Washington not to leave the Open Skies Treaty, which came into force in 2002.
The treaty was aimed at building trust between Russia and the West by allowing the accord’s more than three dozen signatories to conduct reconnaissance flights over each other’s territories to collect information about military forces and activities.
The pact's unarmed overflights are aimed at bolstering confidence and providing members forewarning of surprise military attacks.
In Moscow, RIA state news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko in May as saying that Russia had not violated the treaty.
He was also quoted saying that nothing prevented the continuation of talks on technical issues which Washington condemned as violations.
The Open Skies pull-out followed a lengthy review in which officials found multiple instances of Russian refusal to comply with the treaty, reports Reuters.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in May: "While the United States, along with our Allies and partners that are States Parties to the treaty, have lived up to our commitments and obligations under the treaty, Russia has flagrantly and continuously violated the treaty in various ways for years.
"This is not a story exclusive to just the treaty on Open Skies, unfortunately, for Russia has been a serial violator of many of its arms control obligations and commitments."
But Russia warned at the time that America's decision to withdraw from the treaty allowing observation flights over military facilities would erode global security.
It claimed that by pulling the plug, it would make it more difficult for governments to interpret the intentions of other nations.
The agreement has so far led to more than 1,500 reconnaissance missions.
However Russia has ignored calls to lift flight restrictions, notably over its Kaliningrad region, which lies between NATO allies Lithuania and Poland.
In 2018, NATO leaders expressed concern about “Russia’s ongoing selective implementation” of the treaty and other conventional arms control pacts.
European nations have conducted most of the flights, which often take place over Russia and Belarus.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that “Russia has for many years imposed flight restrictions inconsistent with the treaty".
This "includes flight limitations over Kaliningrad, and restricting flights in Russia near its border with Georgia.”
He also warned that the country’s “ongoing selective implementation has undermined the Open Skies Treaty".
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NATO allies urged to comply with the pact conditions ";as soon as possible".
Some believe that Russia has benefited more from the pact than the US.
Fox News' sources pointed out the overflights are seen more as a propaganda boost for Moscow, "which in the past has flown over Trump’s Bedminster club and the nation’s capital in recent years".
The US relies on advanced spy satellites to collect intelligence which is not covered by the treaty, say American politicians.
America's withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty with Russia comes a year after Trump pulled the US out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.
This pact - sealed in 1987 with the Soviet Union - was canned after Moscow was blamed for developing a missile that does not comply with the nuke treaty.
It means the the US is left with just one major arms treaty with Russia, the New Start agreement - which expires in February.
In October, the Associated Press reported that the US and Russia had "inched closer" to a deal to extend their last remaining arms control pact.
Moscow said it could agree to a US-proposed freeze on each side’s nuclear warheads and to extend the New Start treaty by one year.
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In response America said it was ready for a quick deal.