Non-refundable: the Russian Foreign Ministry received a notification from the United States of the decision not to restore participation in the Don

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Washington has notified Moscow that it does not intend to return to compliance with the Open Skies Treaty (OST).

Previously, publications of the relevant content appeared in a number of foreign media outlets.

In particular, the Associated Press, citing a source, reported that the administration of US President Joe Biden sent Moscow a notice of its unwillingness to return to the Don.

Responding to a request from RIA Novosti journalists to comment on these reports, the Russian ministry confirmed this information.

Later, RIA Novosti published an official commentary of the US State Department, in which representatives of the department also announced the decision not to resume their participation in the Don, allegedly because of "Russian violations".

Recall that the Open Skies Treaty was signed in March 1992 by representatives of 23 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The agreement gives the participants the right to fly unarmed reconnaissance aircraft in the airspace of the countries that signed the document, in accordance with quotas.

Also on russian.rt.com "In the interests of national security": The State Duma adopted a law denouncing the Open Skies Treaty

On Wednesday, May 19, State Duma deputies unanimously supported the draft federal law on the denunciation by Russia of the Open Skies Treaty (OON), which was introduced to the lower house of parliament by President Vladimir Putin.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov explained that after the document is approved by the Federation Council and the president's signature, Russian diplomats will hand over to the custodians of the treaty - Hungary and Canada - a note on Russia's decision to withdraw from the Don.

From this moment, the countdown of a six-month period begins, after which the country will be considered to have left the treaty.

In the process of considering the document in the State Duma, they recalled that the United States was the first to declare its intention to leave the agreement, after which Washington's allies and NATO countries remained among its participants, who are now calling on Russia not to leave the Don.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin spoke about this.

“Just think about this.

The United States withdrew from this treaty, and we cannot participate in flying around their territory.

We cannot, but they can, only through their NATO allies.

Fly over our territory and, of course, monitor, study, carry out reconnaissance activities, - said Volodin.

- Russia has always been in favor of maintaining global security.

This is our ideology.

But on the other hand, you also need to know your conscience. "

The authors of the bill recalled that on November 22, 2020, the United States "under a far-fetched pretext withdrew from the treaty, which significantly violated the balance of interests of the states parties to the treaty, reached upon its conclusion."

“Serious damage was done to the observance of the treaty and its significance in building confidence and transparency, and a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation arose.

In these circumstances, it was decided to start domestic procedures for the withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the treaty, ”the explanatory note said.

Recall that in May 2020, Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Open Skies Treaty, allegedly due to non-compliance with the established regulations by Russia.

Six months later, the procedure for Washington's withdrawal from the agreement was completed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in turn, on January 15, 2021 announced the launch of domestic procedures for Russia's withdrawal from the Don.

Commenting on the confirmation of the US position on the OON received by the Foreign Ministry, the head of the Federation Council commission for the protection of state sovereignty, Andrei Klimov, said that it makes no sense for Russia to remain a party to the agreement.

“The US has previously decided to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty.

It makes no sense for Russia to maintain its presence in the agreement without the United States, therefore we are denouncing the agreement, "RIA Novosti quotes the senator.

According to him, in the current situation "there is no sensation."

At the same time, Klimov noted that the agreement made it possible to strengthen confidence between the Russian Federation and Western countries.

Leonid Slutsky, the head of the State Duma's international affairs committee, is of the opinion that the US decision not to return to the DON demonstrated that Russia took the right step by starting the procedure for its denunciation.

"We cannot continue the" one-sided game "if our European partners are unwilling to provide legal guarantees that these flights over the territory of the Russian Federation will not be transferred to the American side," TASS quoted Slutskiy as saying.