February 2nd local time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met with the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and Swedish Foreign Minister Linde.
At a press conference after the meeting, Lavrov said that if the United States resumes the full implementation of the Open Sky Treaty, Russia will treat the Treaty in a constructive manner.
Lavrov called for all issues between signatories to the treaty that agreed to be considered in the advisory committee under the framework of the treaty.
Lavrov stressed that Russia has not yet started the formal process of withdrawing from the Treaty, and although Russia has announced its decision to withdraw from the Open Sky Treaty, it has not officially notified the signatories.
On the 15th of last month, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the 15th, saying that Russia had decided to start the domestic process of withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty.
The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 2002. States parties to the treaty may carry out unarmed aerial reconnaissance of each other’s territories as required.
Last May, U.S. President Trump accused Russia of violating the Open Skies Treaty, and the U.S. State Department immediately informed the other parties to the Treaty of its withdrawal decision.
Last November, the United States announced its official withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty.
