The United States announced on Thursday May 21 that it is withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty which allows for peaceful aerial surveillance of the participating countries, accusing Russia of repeated breaches of the terms of the agreement.

"Russia has not respected the treaty," said the American president. "So as long as they don't respect it, we will withdraw," he added, confirming information from the New York Times. 

But Donald Trump has not shut the door on a renegotiation. "I think what is going to happen is that we are going to withdraw and they are going to come back and ask to negotiate a deal," he said. "We have had very good relations recently with Russia."

The withdrawal will be official in six months in accordance with the provisions of the treaty, said officials of the American administration.

Thirty-five states are parties to the Open Skies treaty signed in 1992 and whose entry into force in 2002 brought to fruition a project proposed almost half a century earlier by US President Dwight Eisenhower with the idea of ​​fostering trust between countries by authorizing unarmed mutual observation flights.

Already several withdrawals  

Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman says Russia "continually and blatantly violates its obligations under the Open Skies Treaty and applies it in a manner that threatens the United States, as well as our allies and partners ".

In a statement, White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said the United States "will not remain signatories to international treaties that are violated by other parties and that are no longer in the interest of America. "

He cited the two treaties from which the United States has recently withdrawn: the Iranian nuclear program treaty and the INF treaty on medium-range land missiles.

"Guaranteeing the safety of the world"

"We are ready to negotiate with Russia and China on a new arms control framework which goes beyond the structures of the past dating from the Cold War and which makes it possible to guarantee the security of the world," concluded Robert O'Brien. .

After the announcement, Moscow reacted by denouncing the "blow" to European security. 

>> Read also: Iranian nuclear: why Tehran raises the stakes

"The withdrawal of the United States from this treaty means not only a blow to the foundation of European security but also to existing military security instruments and to the essential security interests of the United States' own allies," said the vice. - Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandre Grouchko, quoted by the Russian agencies.

Several allies of the United States within NATO and still others like Ukraine had urged Washington not to withdraw from the treaty. 

With AFP and Reuters 

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