U.S. mulls returning to Open Skies Treaty

The new U.S. administration is looking into the possibility of returning to the Open Skies Treaty, but believes that Russia is not fully compliant with the agreement, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said.

"We’re studying the issue. We’ll take a decision in due course," he said, when asked whether the U.S. return to the treaty was possible.

"To the best of our knowledge, Russia is still not in full compliance with the treaty," TASS cited him as saying.

Washington for several years accused Moscow of selective compliance with the Open Skies Treaty and of violating a number of clauses of that multilateral agreement. Russia came out with counterclaims regarding the U.S. implementation of the treaty. The United States quit the Open Skies Treaty on November 22, 2020.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on January 15 issued a statement to the effect intra-state procedures for withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty had been launched. The Foreign Ministry said such a move was due to the lack of progress in eliminating obstructions for the further operation of the treaty in the new conditions following the U.S. pullout. Once the procedures are over, a corresponding notification will be sent to the treaty’s depositaries.