The An-30V aircraft, operated by the Russian National Center for Nuclear Threat Reduction, will fly over Lithuanian territory October 19 to observe the country's military sites and activities.
The Open Skies Treaty, signed in 1992 at the initiative of U.S. President George H.W. Bush, established a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territory of its 26 states, to promote openness and transparency of military forces and activities.
The Open Skies regime covers the national territories (land, islands, and internal and territorial waters) of all the treaty signatory states. It includes the territory of most member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and is an important element of the European security structure.
