The US once again offends its allies and unilaterally withdraws from a contract for more military transparency and confidence-building. Russia reacts with criticism, but makes a surprising announcement.
Moscow / Brussels / Washington (AP) - The US announced withdrawal from an agreement on military observation flights has caused international irritation and concern.
Even if one shares the doubts about the compliance of the contractual clauses by Russia, one regrets the announcement of the USA, it said on Friday in a joint announcement of the foreign ministers from Germany, France, Italy, Spain and further EU countries. The so-called Open Skies contract is a "crucial element for building trust" and does a lot to improve transparency and security.
Russian government officials also voiced criticism. Washington's withdrawal from such important treaties was "another stage in the dismantling of international security," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Russia nevertheless feels committed to the treaty. Accordingly, Moscow does not plan to exit until further notice, and the agreement could at least continue between European NATO countries and Russia.
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty between NATO countries and former members of the Warsaw Pact for mutual military air surveillance. Washington cites Moscow's violations of the contract as the reason. That is why the US is no longer bound by the treaty.
Russia vehemently denies the allegations. "We will show that the United States lies if they say something like that," said Ryabkov. The United States would violate the treaty. The withdrawal is reminiscent of Washington's approach to the INF disarmament agreement last year. At that time, the United States also canceled the contract and blamed Russia, politicians in Moscow said. Russia is always ready for negotiations, but does not want to be blackmailed.
The Open Skies Treaty allows the last 34 signatory states, among other things, several observation flights per year in the airspace of the contracting parties. It was closed in 1992 and came into force in 2002. Since then there have been more than 1,500 observation flights. Above all, they serve to build trust. Representatives of the observing and observed states take part in all flights.
The United States said in its declaration of withdrawal that Russia was restricting control flights over the Russian Baltic exclave Kaliningrad. This "reduces transparency in a very militarized area," said Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffmann. This also applies to the border between Russia and Georgia.
This criticism is also shared by the NATO partners, in contrast to the far-reaching consequences that the United States draw from it. Washington received no support for the withdrawal decision at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Friday. As in other cases, standing behind the United States' actions was not an issue, it was said after deliberations by the permanent representatives from alliance circles.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was only able to announce after the meeting that all allies believed that Russia had to meet its contractual obligations.
In the past year, the United States had already withdrawn from the INF treaty to forego land-based mid-range nuclear weapons. At that time, NATO partners publicly backed Washington and gave Russia sole responsibility for the end of the treaty. In the case of open skies, however, the US arguments are seen by many partners as not strong enough to justify a step as far as an exit.
According to the Federal Foreign Office, the Open Skies Treaty is the only arms control regime that covers the entire territory of the United States and Russia.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had expressed disappointment with the US decision on Thursday evening and announced that he would use the six-month notice period for further diplomatic initiatives. "During this time, we will work intensely with our like-minded partners to make the US government rethink their decision," he said. It can be seen that there have been difficulties in implementing the treaty on the Russian side in recent years. "In our view, however, this does not justify termination," said Maas.
The United States has left numerous international agreements under Trump, including the nuclear deal with Iran, the Paris climate deal, and the INF treaty banning land-based mid-range nuclear weapons. The latter had been signed by the United States and the Soviet Union and was the most important nuclear disarmament treaty in Europe. Trump wants future disarmament treaties to include China as well as Russia.
Open Sky Treaty, German text of the contract
State Department on Open Skies Agreement, English
Federal Ministry of Defense on the agreement
Letter from leading US Democrats in October, English
