Congress made a proposal to ban the president from making unilateral decisions to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty (OST).
“Withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty is contrary to US national security interests. The United States uses OST to deter Russian aggression and productive cooperation between the countries participating in the agreement. The decision to withdraw would jeopardize stability in Europe and, as a result, our security, ” says the text of the bill, which was introduced by the member of the House of Representatives of the US Democratic Party, Jimmy Panetta.
According to the proposal, the president will be able to decide on the suspension or withdrawal of the United States from the Open Skies Treaty only if, not later than 180 days before, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State confirm to the relevant congressional committees that Russia “substantially violates its obligations” and does not takes actions to return to their execution.