Russian media: The Russian State Duma declares to abolish the "Open Skies Treaty"

　　China News Service, May 19th. According to a report from the Russian Satellite Network on the 19th, the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) voted unanimously to abolish the "Open Sky Treaty" at a meeting held on the 19th.

Earlier on May 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the Russian State Duma a draft law on Russia's abolition of the "Open Skies Treaty."

　　According to reports, Gregory Karasin, Chairman of the International Committee of the Russian Federation Council, revealed that the Federal Council plans to review and abolish the draft law on the "Open Skies Treaty" on June 2.

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

The parties to the treaty may 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.

　　At the end of May 2020, the United States officially notified that it would withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty in six months, but it does not rule out the formulation of a new treaty.

The United States accuses Russia of not fulfilling its treaty obligations, and Russia has repeatedly refuted this.

　　The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on January 15, 2021 that Russia has initiated the procedure for withdrawing from the "Open Skies Treaty".

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that after the United States withdrew from the treaty, it broke the balance of interests reached by the contracting parties when signing the treaty, and Moscow’s contracting partners did not support Russia’s proposal to ensure that the treaty takes effect under the new conditions.