Open Skies Treaty Parties Seek To Resume Flights After Quarantine - Russian Diplomat

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published July 08, 2020 | 12:50 AM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) Many countries that are parties to the Open Skies Treaty have expressed a desire to resume flights as soon as the relevant quarantine restrictions imposed in connection with the spread of coronavirus are lifted, the head of the Conventional Arms Control Division at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Oleg Bushuev, said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the treaty signatories held a conference to discuss the United States' withdrawal from the agreement that let parties conduct regular unarmed surveillance flights over each other's territory to collect data on military activities.

"Many states have confirmed their desire to resume flights as soon as the corresponding restrictions are lifted. The work on resuming operations is underway by the Open Skies Consultative Commission. First of all, national restrictions are taken into account, because in one way or another they apply not only to those who are on their territory, but also to the crew that flies.

It is necessary that there are appropriate guarantees, permits, including from Russian Federal services, which are responsible for quarantine standards in the country," Bushuev said at the Valdai Club's online conference.

The diplomat added that it was difficult to say whether these restrictions would be removed by the end of the year or not. But the very desire to resume flights expressed by the treaty signatories will indicate the relevance of the agreement, Bushuev noted.

"I think that if the pandemic weakens, then perhaps in the second half [of the year] we will see the resumption [of flights]," the diplomat said.

The United States announced in May it would quit the deal in six months if Russia did not return to full compliance with the treaty, which allows participating countries to gather military intelligence during unarmed flights over one another's territory. Russia has denied US claims of breaching the pact.