“We have much more complaints against Americans”: the Ministry of Defense responded to US accusations of DON

The withdrawal of the United States from the Open Skies Treaty (DON) is due to at least two main reasons, said Sergei Ryzhkov, head of the National Center for Nuclear Danger Reduction, in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda.

“First. The desire of the Americans to take control of the entire cosmos (communication, navigation, space debris control systems, remote sensing of the earth, etc.), and it’s good to make money in the future by selling appropriate materials. The second one. Prevent inspections of the US territory, ”Ryzhkov noted.

At the same time, according to him, Washington’s thesis about alleged violations of Russia "did not find wide support even in the United States of America itself."

Ryzhkov recalled that the situation around the contract began to deteriorate since September 2013, when Russia began to use An-30B aircraft with new digital surveillance equipment for observation flights.

“The situation worsened even more after the successful international certification of Russian Tu-154MLK-1 surveillance aircraft in 2016 and Tu-214ON in 2018. The first observation flight with domestic digital surveillance equipment over the United States in the fall of 2017 further spurred opponents of the treaty. It became obvious that in the direction of introducing advanced technologies in DON, we are ahead of our partners by about six to seven years, ”the representative of the Ministry of Defense emphasized.

Ryzhkov also pointed out that the United States and its allies consider the limit of 500 km established by the Russian Federation regarding flights over the Kaliningrad region, as well as the refusal to conduct flights in a ten-kilometer strip along the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, illegal. Another claim of Washington to Moscow concerns the American request for a flight in September 2019 during the conduct of the Center-2019 exercises, in which foreign contingents from the CSTO countries, from China, India and Pakistan also participated.

“But for security reasons, the Russian side was forced to limit the second part of the American observation flight, which coincided with the active phase of the exercise, in which combat and transport aircraft were involved. American inspectors were offered various options for overcoming the situation: for example, to complete the second part of the mission on another day and at the same time increase the total observation time (usually limited to 96 hours). However, our proposals were ignored, and in the end, Washington accused Moscow of another “gross violation” of the treaty, ”Ryzhkov said.

At the same time, he noted that the Russian side has “significantly more claims against the Americans” - they were announced on July 6 at a conference sponsored by the OSCE, at which America’s withdrawal from the Don was discussed.

According to Ryzhkov, in this way, the current administration of the White House continues to work on "breaking the existing system of international security." He added that Washington has consistently withdrawn from any international agreements that in any way limit its activities. In particular, the ABM Treaty and the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty).

“It is known that behind any actions of the American administration on the external side, there are always two strategic goals: ensuring US dominance and financial interests,” said the head of the national center for reducing nuclear danger.

• Boeing OC-135B
• © US Air Force

Recall that on May 22, Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty. According to him, this step is due to the fact that Russia allegedly did not comply with the terms of the agreement. Officially, the US decision to leave DON will take effect in six months.

As noted by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow does not see in its approaches, which have been used all these years under the Don, “any reasons that could justify unilateral US actions to destroy” the treaty.

“The reasons the US decided to quit the DON were artificially created and voiced,” Lavrov said at a news conference following talks with the Foreign Ministers of India and China on June 23.

The Open Skies Treaty was concluded in 1992. At the moment, 34 states have joined it. The international agreement is designed to build confidence between states by improving the system of control over the activities of the military. The document gives the participants of the Don the right, by mutual agreement, and according to the quota system to make observation flights over each other's territories.