Russia Was Forced To Denounce Open Skies Treaty After US Unilateral Moves - Beijing

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2021) Russia was forced to denounce the Open Skies Treaty after Washington's unilateral withdrawal, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said on Wednesday.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill to denounce the treaty on observation flights.

"The Primary reason for Russia's withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty is the United States' unilateral exit from the deal despite the disagreement of the international community. This significantly undermined mutual trust and military transparency between the countries.

The Russian side made efforts to save the treaty but did not achieve a positive reaction from the US and other parties to the treaty," Wang said at a briefing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman emphasized that the US had been long affecting global disarmament and arms control.

"We call on the US side to take into consideration the global community's concerns and to protect the global strategic stability, regional peace and security," Wang concluded.