Russia Withdraws from Open Skies Treaty

On 15th January, 2021, Russia announced its intention of pulling out of the Open Skies treaty (OST), saying that the pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries, had been seriously compromised by the withdrawal of the United States.

Reasons for Russia’s Withdrawal

• Reluctance to Allow Flights Over its Exclave: Russia is reluctant to allow flights over Kaliningrad, its exclave in Eastern Europe that sits between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies Lithuania and Poland.
• Sharing of Intelligence: Russia has raised concerns that despite leaving the treaty the US could potentially retain access to overflight intelligence gathered by its ....