Russia accuses U.S. of flouting Open Skies Treaty

Russia denied on Friday a U.S. accusation that it had repeatedly violated the Open Skies treaty, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries, and said it was Washington that had flouted the terms of the pact.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington had not cited any facts to back up its accusation. He described what he said were U.S. violations of the treaty as “flagrant” and promised to provide detailed evidence of them to other signatory nations.

“We will spend more time having dialogue with these countries to show… with slides, with booklets, why the United States is lying in its claim that Russia is violating the Open Skies treaty, why the U.S. itself is violating this treaty, and what way forward Russia is offering,” Ryabkov said.