WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2019) The United States is still in the Open Skies Treaty and would need substantial evidence to support leaving it, nominee for US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said during a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Earlier, US media reported US President Donald Trump had signed a document to quit the Open Skies Treaty - a move Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday said would be regrettable. The treaty, signed by more than 30 nations, allows for mutual surveillance flights to boost military transparency.
"To my knowledge the United States has not withdrawn from the Open Skies Treaty... there would need to be substantial evidence to support the national security interest for withdrawal from that treaty and there would need to be consultations with this committee with Congress and in particular with our NATO allies and the other countries that are members of the treaty," Sullivan said before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Moreover, Sullivan said he has consulted with the US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison and US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) James Gilmore III, who have suggested the United States remain in the treaty.
Sullivan said the United States is in compliance with the treaty and that Russia has at times violated the treaty.
The Open Skies Treaty was signed in Helsinki on March 24, 1992. Currently, it comprises 34 member-states. Russia ratified the treaty in May 2001. The parties to the treaty may fly over each other's territories in order to control military activities.
