WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2020) President Donald Trump and senior administration officials knowingly violated US law by scrapping the Open Skies Treaty without first consulting with members of Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel said on Thursday.
"This President has had many months and ample opportunity to follow the law by consulting with Congress and our allies but, unsurprisingly, President Trump and his appointees have again shown their disdain for arms control, lack of respect for Congress and its Constitutional authority, and disregard for the rule of law. There is something particularly dangerous about a President, a Secretary of State, and a Secretary of Defense knowingly breaking the law in ways that jeopardize our safety and national security. With this decision, that is exactly what they've chosen to do," Engel said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Trump administration announced its intention to withdraw from the 34-nation Open Skies Treaty, which permits unarmed aerial surveillance flights over participating countries, claiming that Russia has repeatedly violated the pact's terms.
Engel said the treaty has been a pillar of stability, transparency, and security for the United States and our European allies, because authorized surveillance flights are "critical to augmenting the New START Treaty and other arms control measures, as well as shaping how Russia conducts flights over NATO and American bases."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik on Thursday that the US withdrawal will undermine an agreement that seriously strengthened confidence and security in Europe.
