Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Russia initiates procedures to withdraw from the "Open Skies Treaty"

　　China News Service, January 15th. According to Russian satellite network reports, on the 15th local time, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Russia is starting the procedure to withdraw from the Open Sky Treaty.

　　The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 2002.

The 34 treaty participating countries can conduct unarmed aerial reconnaissance on each other's territories as required.

The treaty is an important confidence-building measure after the end of the Cold War, helping to increase transparency and reduce the risk of conflict.

The United States, Russia and most NATO countries signed this treaty.

　　On November 22, 2020, the US government announced that it would officially withdraw from the Open Sky Treaty.

Russian President’s Press Secretary Peskov said that Russia regrets the move by the United States and said that Russia believes this will make the treaty lose its vitality in the future.