In the US Congress, they prohibit the American president from taking any actions to exit the country from the Open Skies Treaty (DON). A bill with such an initiative introduced Congressman Democrat Jimmy Panetta to American parliamentarians.
According to a document the text of which was reviewed by RT, observation flights within the framework of DON contribute to increasing transparency and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region, which is beneficial both for the United States and its allies and partners.
“Exiting the Open Skies Treaty would go against the interests of US national security,” said Jimmy Panetta, the author of the bill. - The United States uses Don to restrain Russian aggression and guarantee productive cooperation between the countries participating in the agreement. The decision to withdraw (from the contract. - RT ) would jeopardize European stability and, as a result, our own security. ”
In this regard, in his document, the congressman proposes to ban the US president from taking any actions “to suspend, terminate or withdraw the country from the Open Skies Treaty, unless the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State determine and not later than 180 days before such actions "they will certify to the relevant congressional committees that Russia substantially violates its obligations in accordance with the DON and does not take measures to return to fulfillment of such obligations." Also, before a possible similar decision by Washington, consultations with all other states parties to the agreement should be held, the bill indicates.
Moreover, it is emphasized separately that in this case the exit will have to be in the national interests of the United States.
Moreover, the document notes that the United States should react firmly to the so-called “violations by Russia of its obligations in accordance with the Don”, while not leaving the treaty.
Russia has repeatedly declared its full compliance with the treaty. As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov previously emphasized, Moscow does not intend to leave the Open Skies Treaty, even if American authorities take such a step.
“We consider the agreement an important element, which, especially in the current situation, stabilizes many processes. There are different options, but we can’t just take and act in a mirror, ”Ryabkov said.
- Russian Tu-214ON aircraft designed specifically for flying under the Open Skies Treaty
- © Wikimedia Commons
Recall that the Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992, entered into force in 2002, and today 34 countries are participating in it, including the United States and Russia. The agreement gives the right to participating states to fly over each other’s territories to monitor military activity in accordance with the agreed quotas of observation missions.
As noted in an interview with RT, a military political scientist, head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology of the REU named after G.V. Plekhanova Andrey Koshkin, in recent years, the United States has withdrawn from a number of treaties that are most important for world stability, but DON is of particular importance to Washington.
“Trump and his administration are very destructive. We can list many agreements that have been created over the years: the comprehensive Iranian Agreement (JCPOA - RT ), the Paris Climate Agreement, and the INF Treaty - from which the United States withdrew. As for the Open Skies Treaty, this kind of exit is unacceptable for Americans, because everyone who entered and enters into the open skies agreement has the right to control the air situation that unfolds in one or another country. Of course, they would like to continue to control Russia, and now it would be convenient for them to “ascribe” some more features of our “aggression” already in Congress, ”the expert emphasized.
Recall that the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) was officially terminated on the initiative of the United States on August 2. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to observe the US steps to develop the INF program.
Make Trump unpleasant
The discussion around DON started after Eliot Engel, chairman of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in early October that he was "deeply concerned about reports that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty." According to him, this agreement enables the United States and its “allies and partners in Europe to monitor military movements in Russia,” and therefore should refrain from breaking it. A corresponding letter from Engel addressed to the adviser to the American leader on national security, Robert O'Brien, was published on the committee’s website.
Later, the American publication The Wall Street Journal, citing certain two unnamed officials, also reported that US President Donald Trump allegedly signed a document in which he announced his intention to withdraw his country from the open skies treaty.
Meanwhile, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov called for "very carefully to take all these statements" and wait for "more or less official confirmation."
In addition, on November 19, Russia's Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that the United States had not yet taken any concrete steps towards withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty (DON).
“It is difficult to say how much this information (about the upcoming withdrawal from the contract) is true. So far, the United States has not taken practical steps to exit, ”he said.
For such bills of the US Congress there is not a real fear that Trump allegedly intends to quit the Don, but the traditional desire of the Congress to limit the powers of the current American president, the director general of the Center for Political Information Alexey Mukhin is sure.
“There is only one political motive - to make it unpleasant for Donald Trump, who is trying to deprive one of the levers of influence on his opponents-partners. In this case, the actions of American lawmakers do not lie in the realm of real politics. This initiative should be considered in the general series of anti-trump bills, with the help of which Trump’s opponents try to “hitch him” like a horse on a walk, ”the political scientist said in an interview with RT.