Donald Trump has ordered the US withdrawal from a three-decade-old arms control treaty that allows countries to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory, blaming Russia for failing to stick to the agreement.
“Russia and us have developed a very good relationship, but Russia didn’t adhere to the treaty. So until they adhere, we will pull out," the president said. He added that there was "a very good chance" a new agreement would be forged, without providing further details.
The Open Skies treaty was signed in 1992 in an effort to promote trust and avert conflict between nations by allowing overflights to monitor signs of military activity and build-up. Some 35 nations are signatories, including Russia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
But US officials have long complained that Russia has not fully complied with the agreement and Mr Trump has made the decision to withdraw, according to the New York Times. Officials said the same information could be gleaned from satellite imagery at a lower cost.
The withdrawal marks the third time Mr Trump has ended major arms control agreements with other world powers since taking office, despite opposition from Washington’s European and Nato allies, who have argued that leaving the agreement would harm global security and threaten other such pacts.
In 2018, Mr Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement, an international deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama which aimed to limit Tehran’s ability to acquire nuclear weapons. Last year, he withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty.
The Open Skies treaty was initially proposed by Dwight Eisenhower in 1955. It was finally signed in 1992 and took effect in 2002.
Explaining the decision to withdraw from the agreement, senior US officials told the Associated Press that Russia had restricted flights over Moscow and Chechnya. They claim Russia had also made it difficult to monitor major military exercises and an important nuclear site, according to the New York Times. The officials also claimed that Russia has been using its own overflights of American and European territory to identify critical US infrastructure for potential attack in a time of war.
General Michael Hayden, who served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency between 2006 and 2009, criticised the decision on Twitter, writing: “This is insane.”
Samantha Power, former US ambassador to the United Nations in the Obama administration, said the decision “further chips away at decades of arms control progress”.
Mr Trump’s decision to abandon Open Skies may signal that he will soon also withdraw from the New START treaty with Russia, which limits the number of nuclear weapons each country can have to 1,550. That agreement lapses in February.
