The transfer of data received by countries that are parties to the Open Skies Treaty to third countries that are not parties to it would be a gross violation of the "letter and spirit" of the Treaty, and this should be excluded, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA Novosti.
"Under the Treaty, any state party may request flight information from another state party, that is, photographic film. Naturally, this is not provided for third states that are not parties to the Treaty," the Russian diplomat said, in particular.
"Based on the letter and spirit of the Treaty (on Open Skies), this (transfer of data to non-party states) should be excluded. Otherwise, it will be a gross violation of the obligations that the participating states assume," he stressed.
The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and became one of the confidence-building measures in Europe after the cold war. It has been in effect since 2002 and allows participating countries to openly collect information about each other's armed forces and activities. 34 states are parties to the Treaty.
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington is withdrawing from the Treaty and will be out of it until Russia "fulfills its obligations." Russia has repeatedly denied US accusations of violating the Treaty. The Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would negotiate with the United States, including on the OST, only on a mutual basis, and any ultimatums from Washington are unacceptable.
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