MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) Russia is not ruling out the possibility to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, which the United States officially abandoned late last week, if the remaining signatories do not fulfill their obligations under the deal, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"I do not rule out this option. I do not rule out any other option, including intermediary ones, as well," Ryabkov said, when asked if Moscow could withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty.
Russia's further steps will depend on willingness to cooperate shown by the remaining participants of the deal, chiefly the "US allies," the diplomat explained.
"They should understand that every single day of delay or unclarity regarding their commitment not to provide information obtained in observation flights to the US ... and their commitment not to hinder our flights over US military facilities on their territory increases the level of their responsibility for the fate of the treaty. So, their claims they are concerned over the fate of the treaty should be substantiated by exact deeds in the sphere. It is all in their hands," Ryabkov stressed.
