Russia does not rule out the possibility of following the United States out of the Open Skies Treaty (OST) in the event that other member states of the treaty fail to fulfill their obligations. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with RIA Novosti.
“I do not exclude this option [withdrawal from the agreement]. I do not exclude any other, including intermediate, solutions, ”the diplomat threatened when asked about Russia's future plans. At the same time, Ryabkov noted that Washington, if the new presidential administration decides to return to the Don, will have to do so on worse conditions.
Earlier, the head of the Russian delegation to negotiations on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, said that Moscow would respond harshly if the countries – members of the Open Skies Treaty transfer the received intelligence to the United States. It is argued that the United States is playing a dirty game, demanding from allies to hand over the materials of their observation flights over Russia.
The United States has ceased to be a party to the Open Skies Treaty since Sunday, November 22. The American side explained its position by the fact that Moscow allegedly does not comply with the points of the agreement. The White House also said that during flights over the United States, Russia monitored the whereabouts of US President Donald Trump. Moscow denies Washington's accusations.
The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992. According to the document, the participating countries can make reconnaissance flights over each other's territory in order to monitor military activities and compliance with existing treaties in the field of arms control.
