The White House has confirmed the withdrawal of the United States from the Open Skies Treaty. This was stated by the Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Robert O'Brien. His words are quoted by the White House National Security Council on Twitter.
According to Robert O'Brien, the agreement is outdated and benefits only the opponents of the United States. In addition, O'Brien said that Russia had “grossly violated” this treaty for several years.
Earlier on Fox News, he claimed that Russia, during flights over the United States under the Open Skies Treaty, monitored the whereabouts of US President Donald Trump. “They flew over the White House, they flew over civilian infrastructure, they tracked where the president might be,” O'Brien assured.
The Russian side considers the US withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies (OON) a calculating game and will seek firm guarantees that the states remaining in the treaty will fulfill their obligations. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Washington expects that its allies will now prevent Russian observation flights over US military installations in Europe and at the same time share with the American side their photographic materials of Russian territory.
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.
