Member of the Democratic Party, chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, says Donald Trump intends to pull Washington out of the Open Skies Treaty.
“I’m deeply concerned about reports that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty, and I urge you to abandon such a reckless move,” said the letter he sent to US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and also posted on its official website.
However, Engel does not specify what kind of messages are in question.
Later, representatives of the leadership of the factions of the Democratic Party in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the US Congress called on Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to abandon plans for a possible withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty.
The corresponding message to Pompeo and Esper, in addition to Engel, was sent by senators Robert Menendez and Jack Reed, as well as Congressman Adam Smith.
The Open Skies Treaty was concluded in Helsinki in 1992. It was signed by the United States, as well as member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This document gives the participants of the Don the right, by mutual agreement and quota system, to conduct reconnaissance flights over each other's territories. Moscow ratified this document in 2001. In 2002, it entered into force. Now it includes 34 states.
“The Open Skies Treaty allows the United States, as well as its allies and partners in Europe, to monitor the deployment of Russian military forces. Observing flights stipulated by the Treaty and allowing to collect additional information on Russia's military measures in Ukraine, have become a deterrent to further Russian aggression in the country, ”Engel writes in his letter.
Thus, the congressman concludes, the US withdrawal from the Don will only benefit Russia.
In his letter, Engel also insisted that the "change in the nature of participation" of the United States take place "as part of a transparent process involving a thorough interagency examination, consultative participation of Congress." In addition, in his opinion, the other parties to the treaty should have a clear understanding of the intentions of the United States.
In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov called for "very carefully to take all these statements" and wait for "more or less official confirmation" that the United States is really going to quit the Don.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the United States did not notify Moscow of withdrawal from the treaty.
“To date, no official statements have been made regarding the US withdrawal from DON. American parliamentarians periodically make such statements that the Russian Foreign Ministry does not comment on, ”she said.
Meanwhile, the administration of the American president did not give any official comments on this matter.
“We are not commenting on issues that are under consideration,” a White House source told a TASS correspondent.
“Not the most popular solution”
It is worth noting that the United States has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the treaty. But protests from the Trump administration were not caused by the treaty itself, but by the way it was respected, in particular by Russia. So, Washington was indignant that Moscow in 2014 limited the flights of the Kaliningrad region envisaged by the agreement to a range of 500 km. The Russian Federation insisted on the legitimacy of such a restriction, since intensive flights over part of this region create problems for civil aviation. In addition, Moscow recalled the problems that accompany the harmonization of observations on US islands in the Pacific.
- Eliot Engel
- © Joshua Roberts / Reuters
The Americans also considered a violation of DON Russia's refusal to conduct an observation flight in a ten-kilometer buffer zone along the borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In September 2017, Moscow and Washington took mutual steps regarding the implementation of the terms of the Don. The United States banned Russian observer aircraft from using the US Air Force bases Robins in Georgia and Ellsworth in South Dakota. Moscow in response announced the cancellation of overnight stays by crews of American observer aircraft at three Russian air bases.
However, neither the United States nor Russia announced their intention to withdraw from the Don.
In an interview with RT, President of the American University in Moscow Eduard Lozansky suggested that Engel intentionally took advantage of the “leak” from the White House right now.
“Now Trump must decide how he reacts to Engel’s letter. In such a situation, the US president will weigh every word and will not make hasty statements. Exit from DON, if it is really being prepared, will not be the most popular decision that Congress and Trump voters would support with a bang, ”Lozansky believes.
In turn, the corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, Americanist Sergei Sudakov, regards Engel’s letter as a litmus test.
“His idea is very simple: see what the reaction will be within the United States and the world community,” he said.
Sudakov admits that in this way the Democrats want to check whether Trump will put the topic of leaving DON to the position of “making excuses”. The analyst recalled an investigation initiated by the Democrats, the aim of which was the impeachment of the 45th president of the United States.
The political scientist suggests that the attack on the president in connection with the alleged withdrawal from the DON may pursue the same goal - to exert psychological pressure on Trump.
“If Trump said that he wants to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, it would be possible to exclude the option of an information attack on the president. I think that now it’s worth considering Engel’s letter as a certain test in the election race, the goal of which is to get feedback, ”Sudakov said.
"Rash step"
At the same time, experts believe that if Trump really decides to withdraw the United States from the Don, this will be a rash step on his part.
“Neither the EU countries, nor Russia will absolutely certainly be delighted,” says Lausansky.
- Donald Trump can stop the action of DON, argues his opponent
- © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Sudakov emphasizes that observation flights over the territory of another state are important for strengthening stability in the world.
“The Open Skies Treaty was conceived to restore confidence between countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. And it really began to recover. If Trump leaves the Don, it will greatly undermine the credibility of both US institutions and any international agreements. This will be a step towards chaotization of international relations and evidence of the White House’s indifference to the interests of its allies, ”Sudakov concludes.