WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2020) Senior Democrats on House of Representatives and Senate committees responsible for foreign affairs and the armed forces warned that the Trump administration's tentative plans to pull the United States out of the Open Skies Treaty would blind European allies' ability to monitor Russia's military activities in their respective backyards, according to a joint press release on Tuesday.
"This decision would have far-reaching, negative repercussions for our European allies, who rely on this Treaty to keep Russia accountable for its military actions in the region. During a time when we need to push back against Russian aggression, we cannot continue to undermine our alliances - which is exactly what US withdrawal from this Treaty would do," the release issued by House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Democrat Jack Reed and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Bob Menendez said.
The release also accused the Trump administration's timing of the change during the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, presumably because the public is overly distracted by reports on the pandemic.
The lawmakers urged the administration to reverse course rather than "ramming it through" while the United States and the entire world grapples with the novel coronavirus.
The administration has said it has not made a final decision on whether to remain a party to the treaty.
But Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Congress last month that the Pentagon would delay funding for new or upgraded aircraft to conduct overflights until a decision is reached.
The 1992 treaty allows signatories, including the United States and Russia, to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over other nations' territories to collect data on military activities.
