Russia's Open Skies Treaty Surveilance Plane To Be Modified In Kazan - Defense Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2021) Russia's Tu-214ON reconnaissance aircraft designed to conduct inspection flights under the Open Skies Treaty will be modified at a factory in Kazan so that it could be used for other purposes, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said.

Speaking at a meeting with reporters in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, Shoigu noted that Tu-214ON planes were manufactured in the regional capital of Kazan, specifically at the Kazan Aviation Factory named after S.P. Gorbunov.

"In light of the end of the Open Skies Treaty... we need to repurpose these planes and who will repurpose them? Kazan, of course," Shoigu said, as quoted by the Russian Defense Ministry in a statement issued on Saturday.

The ministry reminded that Russia had done everything to preserve the deal and that sole responsibility for its collapse lies with the United States.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and became effective 10 years later. It allows 34 participating countries to conduct unarmed observation flights over each other's territories.

In May 2020, then-US President Donald Trump initiated the six-month withdrawal procedure of his country from the Open Skies Treaty, citing violations by Russia � an allegation denied by Moscow. The US officially terminated its membership last November, while Russia left it this June.