Russian diplomat castigates U.S. refusal to return to Open Skies Treaty

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov criticized Washington’s decision not to return to the Treaty on Open Skies as another political error.

"The United States has made another political mistake, dealing one more blow to the European security system. We gave them [the Americans] a chance, but they failed to take it," he pointed out.

"They continue to circulate fallacies about Russia’s alleged violations of the treaty, which is completely absurd. It’s useless to repeat our position, those willing to find out about it can do so easily, but the fact is that no one in Washington is willing to do that," TASS cited Ryabkov as saying.

Russian deputy foreign minister also noticed that "the dates for concluding the procedures for Russia’s denunciation of the Treaty on Open Skies now depend on the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) and the decision by President Vladimir Putin. That said, all this could be completed before the June summit".