Signed March 24, 1992, the Open Skies Treaty permits each state-party to conduct short-notice, unarmed, reconnaissance flights over the others' entire territories to collect data on military forces and activities. This being one of the de-escalation efforts as a key part of US foreign policy envisioned by Eisenhower and brought to fruition by H.W. Bush is the latest in a series of withdrawals by the Trump administration.
parties to the Open skies treaty
The Open Skies Treaty’s primary goal was to ensure a certain level of accountability between the 35 nations party to it (34 ratified, Kyrgyzstan - signatory). Every state-party is obligated to accept a certain number of overflights each year, referred to as its passive quota, which is loosely determined by its geographic size. The US government is likely to tender formal notice to the OSCC, the Open Skies Consultative Commission (OSCC) that is composed of representatives of all states-parties and is responsible for the implementation of the Open Skies Treaty. The OSCC considers matters of treaty compliance, decides on treaty membership, distributes active quotas, and deals with any questions that may arise during the implementation of the treaty.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov at a summit in moscow Russia
Trump and his aides have maintained that this withdrawal is a result of the consistent violation of the treaty obligations. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that this unilateral withdrawal by the United States threatens international security and that Washington had provided no facts to back up its assertion that Moscow has repeatedly violated the pact’s terms.
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