- Russia announced that it was pulling out of the Open Skies treaty, saying that the pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries, had been seriously compromised by the withdrawal of the United States.
- The move, announced by Russia’s Foreign Ministry, comes days before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s January 20 inauguration amid fears of a burgeoning arms race. Moscow’s last major nuclear arms pact with Washington is set to expire next month.
- The United States left the Open Skies arms control and verification treaty in November, accusing Russia of violating it, something Moscow denied.
- Russia said in a statement that Moscow had made specific proposals to other members to mitigate against the impact of the U.S. exit but that those proposals were not backed by Washington’s allies.
About Open Skies Treaty (OST)
- It was first proposed by USA in 1955 to deescalate tensions during the Cold War.
- This treaty was eventually signed in 1992 between NATO members and former Warsaw Pact countries following the demise of the Soviet Union. It finally came into effect in 2002.
- The Warsaw Pact (1955) was signed between Russia and her satellite states shortly after West Germany was admitted to NATO.
- The Pact was a mutual defense agreement, which the Western countries perceived as a reaction against West Germany's membership of NATO.
- The OST aims at building confidence among its 34 signatories countries through mutual openness, thus reducing the chances of accidental war.
- Open surveillance: Under the treaty, a member State can undertake surveillance on any part of the host nation, with the latter’s consent.
- Officials from the host state can also stay on board throughout the planned journey.
- Only approved imaging equipment is permitted on the surveillance flights.
- Sharing strategic information: The information gathered, such as on troop movements, military exercises and missile deployments, has to be shared with all member States.
- Both US and Russia were signatories of the treaty.
- India is not a member of this treaty.
Why USA Withdrawn:
- Russia’s continuous non compliance: The USA had for over a decade accused Russia of non-compliance with OST protocols, blaming Moscow of obstructing surveillance flights on its territory, while misusing its own missions for gathering key tactical data.
- OST misused to claim Ukrainian region: The USA also accused Russia of designating an airfield in the annexed Crimean Peninsula as an Open Skies refueling base as an illegal attempt by Russia to cement its claim to the Ukrainian region.
- Risk to critical infrastructures: Russia misused its flights over the USA and Europe to identify critical infrastructure for potential attack in a time of war.
Reasons for Russia Withdrawal:
- USA limiting OST: Russia defends its non compliance with the OST to allow flights over Kaliningrad (Russian exclave in Eastern Europe that lies between NATO allies Lithuania and Poland) citing the example of the US imposing similar limits on flights over Alaska.
- No assurance from NATO members: After USA withdrawal from OST, Russia did not get the sought assurance from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies who continued to remain on the treaty that they would not transfer data collected by their flights over Russia to Washington (USA).
Concern for India:
- Growing mistrust between global powers could make it difficult for India to maintain good mutual relationships with both the countries if the hostility escalates in future.
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