Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 7 signed into law the country’s departure from the Open Skies treaty following in the footsteps of the former and current US presidential administrations.
- The agreement was set up after the Cold War to build confidence between Russia and NATO members by allowing signatory states to conduct unarmed surveillance missions over each other’s territory.
- Former US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would pull out of the agreement, prompting a pledge from Moscow to follow suit.
- According to the Open Skies treaty, the signatory states are allowed to observe each other’s military forces and activities by means of a limited number of yearly reconnaissance flights.
- It was first signed in 1992 and came into effect in 2002.
