Russia began its withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty because the situation was unbearable after the US quit the agreement, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2021) Russia began its withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty because the situation was unbearable after the US quit the agreement, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said Friday.
"We were hoping for constructive approach from Western countries, which said they were committed to the Open Skies treaty. However, their political ties with the United States turned out to be more important for them than maintaining the important European security tool," Zakharova said.
Russia made every effort to keep the agreement after the United States left and suggested, as a solution, that the remaining parties guarantee that none of the data collected over Russia could be transferred to the US, the spokeswoman said.
"The situation was untenable for us, as all NATO members retained their ability to monitor Russia, but the territory of the alliance leader, the US, was closed to Russia," Zakharova said.
