Russia will fully withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty (OST) on December 18, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Friday.
"Russia has notified all participating states of its decision to withdraw from the OST six months after the notice was sent. Thus, it will take place on December 18, 2021," the diplomatic mission said.
With the entry into force of the federal law "On Denunciation of the Open Skies Treaty by the Russian Federation," Moscow, in accordance with the established procedure, sent notifications to the countries - depositories of the agreement - Hungary and Canada - as well as to the other member states through the embassies in the respective capitals.
"The depositary states of the OST have been asked to immediately inform all participating states of the relevant notification and to convene a conference of participating states as soon as possible within the period stipulated by the treaty (i.e. in 30 days) to consider the consequences of Russia's withdrawal," the document reads.
The ministry said the treaty situation shows the futility of trying to achieve unilateral advantages while ignoring Moscow's interests and concerns.
"The history of the OST suggests at least two conclusions. First: attempts to achieve unilateral advantages while ignoring Russia's interests and concerns are doomed to failure," reads the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry. - "Secondly, the assumption that "technical superiority" of the West will make it possible to bypass Russia and leave it on the sidelines, is also not justified".
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on Western partners to realize that they will not be able to ensure their security without taking into account the security interests of Russia and its allies. "We will always have an effective response. But it is still better to work together constructively on strengthening European and global security, relying among other things on the experience of many years of fruitful cooperation of states within the framework of the OST," the ministry stressed.
The statement notes that Russia did everything for preserving the Treaty and the United States is responsible for its failure. The Foreign Ministry pointed out that Americans are actively advocating transparency in the military field "only in cases when they intend to use it to gain some advantages".
"When it comes to transparency measures affecting their own territory, they backtrack and begin to create obstacles to the implementation of such agreements, without giving any thought to European security, or to the concerns of their allies, or to assessing their own treaty capability," the ministry concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS