US imposes restrictions on Russian inspection flights

MOSCOW - 29 September 2017: The United States has imposed certain restrictions concerning inspection flights in its airspace carried out by Russia under the Open Skies Treaty.

A US Department of State official told TASS on Thursday that the restrictions would limit Moscow’s flexibility in carrying out reconnaissance flights in the US airspace.

Russia still has full access to all parts of the US territory, the official said adding that these response measures would present challenges in mission planning and treaty implementation similar to those that the US faces when conducting its Open Skies Treaty missions in Russia.

After repeated unsuccessful attempts to engage Moscow diplomatically, both bilaterally and multilaterally through the Open Skies Consultative Commission (OSCC) and related forums in Vienna, the US will no longer permit certain implementation flexibilities that have been extended to Russia, the source noted.

He added that "Washington expected the move to encourage Russia to engage more constructively about our concerns".

The US has informed the OSCC in June that Russia violates its obligations under the treaty.

Treaty on Open Skies had been inked in 1992 to establish a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants and was designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, a direct role in gathering information about military forces and activities of concern to them.

The OSCC is the implementing body for the Treaty.