Russia may reconsider its withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty. This was stated by the head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control Konstantin Gavrilov in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.
In particular, Gavrilov commented on the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that if the United States returns to the implementation of the treaty, Russia “will be ready to consider this situation in a constructive manner.” According to the head of the Russian delegation, the point at issue is that Russia may reconsider its decision to withdraw from the treaty.
Despite the launch of the exit procedure, Russia will continue to accept and conduct observation flights under the agreement, Gavrilov added. At the moment, they are not there due to bad weather, however, most likely, they will begin in late February – early March.
The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992. The agreement allows member states to conduct reconnaissance flights over each other's territory to monitor military activities and compliance with existing arms control treaties.
