The US government informed Russia on Thursday that it would not return to a crucial arms control deal, despite the fact that the two sides are preparing for a June summit between their leaders.
US officials indicated that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman informed the Russians that President Joe Biden’s administration decided not to return to the Open Skies Treaty of the Organization for European Cooperation and Security (OSCE), a multilateral agreement that allowed for the monitoring of flights over the military facilities in both countries, from which he resigned. Former President Donald Trump.
Thursday’s decision means that only one arms control treaty between the two nuclear powers, the New START Treaty, remains in effect.
Trump took no initiative to extend the New START treaty, which expired at the beginning of this year, but only after he took office. Biden immediately decided to extend it for another five yearsAnd reviewing the decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty.
Officials announced the completion of the analysis and revealed that Sherman informed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov of the US decision not to return to the open sky. The Associated Press (AP) said the officials themselves were not allowed to discuss the matter publicly and speak anonymously.
The decision comes just weeks after a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, between Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, with the aim of finding common ground in a period of deteriorating relations between Washington and Moscow, at the lowest level in decades.
The United States formally abandoned the Open Skies Treaty in November 2020, accusing Russia of “spoiling” the agreement. In response, Russia expressed its regret at the decision, and considered that with the official withdrawal from the United States, “the treaty loses its applicability.”
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