Moscow. November 22. INTERFAX-the United States is expected to withdraw from the open skies Treaty on November 22.
Six months ago, on may 21, US President Donald trump announced that he had decided to withdraw from the open skies Treaty. The country leaves the agreement six months after the official notification of the partners.
The US decision to withdraw from the open skies Treaty was expected, and it is important for Russia to preserve this agreement with the participation of European States, Russian expert, academician Alexey Arbatov told Interfax earlier.
"If trump doesn't want to participate in this Treaty, God be with him. This agreement applies primarily to Europe. Russia and other European States must respect and support this agreement so that military tension does not increase on the continent," said Arbatov, who heads the Center for international security at the Institute of world economy and international relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"I believe that Russia has taken a wise position, having previously said that it will remain a party to the Treaty even if the United States withdraws from it. This is not a bilateral agreement, it covers 34 countries. Even if Canada withdraws from the open skies Treaty, NATO States that are close to Russia will remain in it, " the source said.
According to Arbatov, the US decision on the open skies Treaty was not a surprise.
"The history of the intermediate-range and shorter-range missile Treaty (INF) repeats itself. First, accusations are made against Russia, then the United States withdraws from the Treaty. Before trump, the us administration filed charges, but did not withdraw from the agreements, hoping for some mutually acceptable solution. The trump administration has a different position. It does not consider arms control an extreme value, especially since these agreements were concluded before it, " Arbatov said.
"The current us administration does not understand these problems and does not appreciate these agreements. Russia also has claims against the United States-under the open skies Treaty, the INF TREATY, and start. But Russia rarely withdraws from any important agreements just because it has claims, " the Russian expert said.
"NO STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE"
The us withdrawal from the open skies Treaty will not have critical consequences for Russia, the former head of the main Department of international military cooperation of the Russian defense Ministry, retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, told Interfax earlier.
"Don't worry about this agreement. This Treaty is not a basis for maintaining stability in the world. It does not seriously affect the maintenance of our security, " Ivashov said.
"This agreement did not have any strategic significance. And it was very ambiguously perceived by the Russian military community, " the source added.
"The open skies Treaty was still working when the Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe - the CFE Treaty-was being implemented. Now that all this is buried, what can he give? Nothing-neither in terms of intelligence, nor in terms of surveillance. Everything is being watched from satellites today, " he said.
THE US WILL CONTINUE TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT ENTITIES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
After exiting the Treaty on open skies, the U.S. will be able to obtain information about Russian military units from the NATO countries that remain parties to the agreement, said member-correspondent of RAS, Director of Institute of Europe RAS Alexey Gromyko.
"The question is, what if Russia took the path of concession and said: here the United States left, and we retain our membership in the Treaty, like the Europeans. It seems that it was beautiful, but the thing is that from a military point of view it would be a very serious concession on the part of Russia," Gromyko said in June at a session of Primakov readings online, answering a question from Interfax about the future of the Treaty.
"After all, during the flights that the Europeans will carry out over our territory, all the data that they will continue to collect, they will be received in the same form by the United States," he added.
"And in fact, what is the meaning of this concession, if on the one hand the United States withdrew, but on the other hand Russia and other NATO members continue to participate in the Treaty? It is difficult for me to say how much this stumbling block can be bypassed in order for Russia and the Europeans to play an interesting game here," the expert said.
POSITION OF THE RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY
At the end of December 2019, Russian Deputy defense Minister Alexander Fomin said that Russia fulfills its obligations under the open skies Treaty, and its destruction will complicate the situation in the field of arms control.
"We continue to fulfill the requirements of the agreement. If this agreement is also destroyed, it will further complicate the situation with arms control, " Fomin said at the time.
"In General, today the situation in this area is deteriorating. The main reason is the actions of the United States, which does not want to bind itself to restrictions in the development of new types of weapons and their deployment in various regions of the world. Such actions increase instability and can potentially contribute to an increase in incidents, " Fomin said.
NATO'S POSITION
NATO allies and partner countries are working with Russia to ensure that it returns to compliance with the open skies Treaty (DON) as soon as possible, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier.
"Russia's return to compliance (DON - if) is the best way to preserve the benefits of the Treaty," Stoltenberg said in a statement issued after a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of permanent representatives, who discussed the situation in connection with the US withdrawal from the DON.
"We are firmly committed to maintaining effective international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. We all agree that all States parties to the open skies Treaty must fully comply with their obligations. All NATO allies fully comply with all the provisions of the Treaty, " the head of the North Atlantic Alliance said.
According to him, "Russia has for many years imposed flight restrictions incompatible with the Treaty, including restrictions on flights over Kaliningrad and restrictions on flights in Russia near its border with Georgia."
According to Stoltenberg, " Russia's constant selective implementation of its obligations under the open skies Treaty has undermined the contribution of this important Treaty to ensuring security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region."
He said that the NATO allies called on Russia to return to full compliance with the Treaty at their summit in Wales in 2014 and repeated this call at the Warsaw summit in 2016, and then at the Brussels summit in 2018.
The Treaty on Open Skies was signed on 24 March 1992 in Helsinki by representatives of 23 member States of the Organization for security and co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Russia ratified the Treaty on may 26, 2001, and currently 34 States are parties to it. They can fly over each other's territories in order to control military activities.