Member States of the Treaty on Open Skies are in light blue. Depository countries (Canada and Hungary) are in dark blue. Kyrgyzstan, in yellow, has signed but not yet ratified this agreement. Wikipedia
Flying Blind -- Washington Free Beacon
Russia Blocks U.S. from Treaty-Approved Spy Flights
The Russian government this week canceled a planned U.S. surveillance flight over Russian territory in a bid to limit spying on massed troops facing off against Ukraine and Eastern Europe, according to U.S. officials.
The overflight mission was scheduled for April 14 to April 16 under the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, but Russia’s government notified the State Department 72 hours before the scheduled flight that it would not be permitted.
The cancellation is unusual because the sole reason for putting off such treaty-approve surveillance is flight safety, such as bad weather.
Until this week, the United States and other European allies who are a party to the 34-nation treaty were conducting weekly overflights above Russia during the past month.
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My Comment: A brief description of the 1992 Open Skies Treaty can be read here. This is a serious development because it violates one of the principles of having arms control agreements .... being able to verify that the other side is in compliance. By refusing this flight .... Russia has essentially abrogated it's treaty violations, as well as destroying any trust that Russia would respect future agreements.
2 comments:
This whole episode has been Putin's statement that the way things have done before are over. All the rules, agreements, pacts, understandings, and the accepted way of doing things are subject to Moscow's interpretation and approval.
Funny how nobody mentions what USA violates. Nobody said a word when america slaughtered 2 million iraqis. And apparently according to Obama, the crimea issue is "worse than what USA did to iraq".
Lol, talk about being backward.
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