According to experts of U.S. newspaper The New York Times, Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies will intensify military rivalry with the United States, reports PolitRussia
Moscow’s withdrawal from the OST, which allows member states to conduct reconnaissance flights over each other’s territories, was a retaliatory measure to similar moves by Washington.
“Moscow’s decision exacerbates Russia’s growing military competition with the United States and Europe”, – the NYT noted.
The paper’s experts believe that such actions could herald “an intense confrontation between Russia and the Biden administration.” It also notes that the situation has escalated on the eve of the START-3 talks. The treaty expires in early February: the agreement is the last document to curb nuclear competition between Russia and the US.
“It is not yet clear whether the countries will agree to extend START for five years. However, one thing is clear: Russia has no intention of easing Biden’s difficulties with the consequences of his predecessor Trump’s actions in pulling the US out of important international security treaties”, – the publication’s experts stress.
According to The New York Times, the most important thing about the agreement was that it allowed US military aircraft to go deep into Russian airspace and vice versa: it was a kind of symbol of a mutual decision to avoid war.
The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The parties to the treaty undertook to open up their airspace for observation flights. The information flows into a databank, which is available to all parties to the Treaty.