US Pulls Out Of Open Skies Treaty As Announced By Trump

The United States Government has pulled out of the Open Skies Treaty after its European counterpart Russia failed to comply, as disclosed by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo Sunday.

Following the decision to leave the treaty, a top Democrat criticised the move, urging the President-elect Joe Biden to reverse the move.

Pompeo, in a statement, said that the US was safer because of its withdrawal from the treaty.

He said, “Today, pursuant to earlier notice provided, the United States withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies is now effective. “America is more secure because of it, as Russia remains in non-compliance with its obligations.”

The Open Skies Treaty signed in 1992 but effected in 2002 was geared towards allowing nations to fly into another's airspace for unarmed aerial surveillance.

The plan to withdraw from the treaty was announced six months prior, with the incumbent president Donald Trump projecting that the US's withdrawal would force the Russian party to want to "make a deal."

A Democratic Senator, Bob Mendez, said that the move by the Trump administration raised deep concerns among allies of the US.

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He said, “The administration’s decision to abandon the treaty fits into a broader pattern of discarding arms control and non-proliferation agreements, raising deep concerns among our allies about our commitment to their security.

“I urge the incoming Biden administration to rejoin the treaty in a manner consistent with our constitutional structure, and I expect the new administration to consult early and often with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on this and other treaty matters.”