US Will Not Be Party To Open Skies Treaty 6 Months From May 22 - Pompeo

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2020) The United States will leave the Open Skies Treaty within six months from Friday, but can reconsider the withdrawal if Russia returns to full compliance with the accord, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Thursday.

"Tomorrow, the United States will submit notice of its decision to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies to the Treaty Depositaries and to all other states parties to the Treaty. Effective six months from tomorrow, the United States will no longer be a party to the Treaty," Pompeo said.

"We may, however, reconsider our withdrawal should Russia return to full compliance with the Treaty."

Pompeo accused Russia of restricting US surveillance flights over Kaliningrad - its enclave in the Baltic region - along the borders with Georgia and over large military exercise areas.

"Russia's designation of an Open Skies refueling airfield in Crimea, Ukraine, is similarly an attempt to advance its claim of purported annexation of the peninsula, which the United States does not and will never accept," Pompeo said.