Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law denouncing the Open Skies Treaty (OST). The document was published on the official portal of legal information
The law was passed unanimously by the State Duma in May. At a meeting of the upper house of parliament on 2 June, senators unanimously approved the adoption of the law, with 152 votes in favour.
In November 2020, the United States officially withdrew from the NPT, explaining its decision by the fact that Russia had allegedly repeatedly violated several provisions of the treaty. In January, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was launching domestic procedures to withdraw from the NPT.
The Open Skies Treaty allows member states to overfly any of each other’s territories to observe military activities in accordance with the observation mission quotas agreed and stipulated therein.