SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday that formalizes Russia’s exit from the Open Skies treaty, a pact that allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries.
The Kremlin said the U.S. decision to withdraw from the treaty had “significantly upset the balance of interests” among the pact’s members and had compelled Russia to exit, Reuters reported.
“This caused serious damage to the treaty’s observance and its significance in building confidence and transparency, [causing] a threat to Russia’s national security,” the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.
In January, Russia’s foreign ministry said it was withdrawing from the treaty, citing “lack of progress” on maintaining the functioning of the treaty after the U.S. withdrew from it last year.
The treaty was signed soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992 and came into force in 2002.
It allowed its nearly three dozen signatories to carry out short-notice flights over one another’s territory to monitor potential military operations, according to AFP.
Members include countries across Europe, the former Soviet Union and Canada.
The pact allows its members to request copies of images taken during surveillance flights carried out by other members.
