The Open Skies agreement on the Fag – U.S. threaten the global arms control of the US withdrawal from the Treaty on Open skies in Europe has been of concern. Russia, the USA,
heavily criticized the agreement, for the time being.Matthias Kolb, Paul-Anton Krüger and Georg Mascolo0 comment always new differences between the two countries: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at a Meeting in the summer of 2019.Photo: Keystone
The Treaty on Open skies (Open Skies) allowed the 34 signatory States, a number of observation flights per year in the airspace of the Contracting partner. The Nato and the States of the former Warsaw Pact agreed in 1992 on the mutual military Surveillance “from Vancouver to Vladivostok”. 2002 entered into force, the Open Skies Treaty flights of Control, as a confidence-building measure between the former enemies of the Cold war.
the Open Skies were regarded as an important part of the European arms control architecture. The significant agreements is now on the Brink. The USA have entered on Friday under the contract required official notification that you are leaving in six months of the agreement. Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo justified the decision of President Donald Trump, that Russia “has shamelessly and continued to hurt over the years of the contract in a different way”.
Kaliningrad Flights prevents
As Washington accuses Moscow, unlawful Overflights of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad prevented. There, Russia has stationed according to the assessment of the Nato short-range missiles, the nuclear warheads can carry. Also on the disputed border between Russia and Georgia, it came to difficulties, because Moscow wanted to know the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as sovereign States.
In Europe, with concern, how one piece breaks the whole architecture of arms control together. Unlike the INF Treaty on the limitation of nuclear medium-range systems, where, from a European point of view, the breaches of contract of Russia were clearly, you can see the Open-Skies agreement violations are less clear Russian Contract.
All Attempts to solve this in a specially established working group called the Small Group failed. Because until today, nothing has changed grants, such as the German foreign Minister, Heiko Maas. There is “on the side of Russia, in fact, difficulties in the implementation”. Nevertheless, “this is justified from our point of view, but no notice”. The agreement will contribute “to peace and security on virtually the entire Northern hemisphere”.
The Minister of foreign Affairs of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Germany declared on Friday together on the contract. At the same time, they called on Russia to enter into dialogue and to the full implementation return.
trust-building and open discussions
At Nato in Brussels, the step for months, and fears had been expected. In the autumn of of Washington questionnaires had been sent to all members of the Alliance to have their opinions. Even if the heads of state and government in the summit Declaration of July 2018 “Russia’s continuing criticisms of the end of selective implementation,” looks at the vast majority of the Nato countries, the problems are solvable and the benefits of the contract as considerably. The control of flights, in which Russians of the countries are sitting next to soldiers of the Nato-contribute only to the formation of trust. The obtained image material, you could also Moscow is very open to talk, since the source was not in dispute, is the response from the Alliance.
unlike the INF Treaty is Open Skies with the announced exit of the U.S. is not necessarily at the end. 33 contractual partner want to continue – which would at least allow for more control flights in Europe. However, no one knows how Russia reacts in the end.
for the time being, you hold on to the contract, said Alexander Grushko, one of the two Deputy foreign Ministers. His colleague Sergei Rijabkow says you should also be ready to negotiate. “We don’t want to accept what is being formulated in Washington.” As a commitment to the agreement, the not sounds.
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