Tu-214 Certification Expands Russia's Monitoring Under Open Skies Treaty - Moscow

The certification of the Tu-214ON plane will improve the effectiveness of Russian observation flights under the Open Skies Treaty, including over Great Britain, the United States and Canada, the head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, Sergei Ryzhkov, said on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) The certification of the Tu-214ON plane will improve the effectiveness of Russian observation flights under the Open Skies Treaty, including over Great Britain, the United States and Canada, the head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, Sergei Ryzhkov, said on Monday.

The certification was carried out by more than 70 experts from 23 member states of the treaty on September 2-11. The United States was the last member-country to sign the final certification protocol on Monday.

"The certification of a new observation aircraft allows us to expand the capability for effective observation flights, including over the territories of Great Britain, the United States and Canada," Ryzhkov said.

The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in 1992 to promote openness and transparency of military forces and activities in the post-Cold War period.

The treaty allows the member states to openly gather information on respective armed forces and their military activities during scheduled observation flights. The signatories include most of the NATO states, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and several others.