Putin Signs Bill on Open Skies Treaty Denunciation into Law

By Staff, Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill denouncing the Open Skies Treaty; the document was published on the government's official legal information portal.

The United States and Germany will carry joint observation flight over the Russian territory within the framework of the Treaty on Open Skies, Sergei Ryzhkov, the head of Russia’s National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said.

Previously, the US notified Russia it would not return to the Open Skies Treaty, which was signed in 1992 and allowed the signatories to conduct unarmed observation flights over each other's territories on short notice.

In May 2020, the United States started the withdrawal procedure, which was completed on 22 November. On 15 January, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the start of relevant procedures as well.

Signed in 1992, the Open Skies Treaty went into effect ten years later. It allowed 34 participating countries to conduct unarmed observation flights over each other's territory. 

However, in May 2020, then-US President Donald Trump said his country would pull out of the treaty due to alleged violations by Moscow, something that Russia denied, stressing that all of the agreement-related issues Washington raised could be discussed within the framework of the Open Skies Consultative Commission. 
US participation in the treaty officially ended on 22 November, prompting Russia's withdrawal from the accord.