A group of Canadian observers will conduct a series of inspection flights over Russia under the Open Skies Treaty starting on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The flights will be along the route coordinated earlier with Russian specialists, who will be on board of the aircraft monitoring implementation of agreements on the use of technical equipment for the observation,” the statement said.
The inspection flights will be conducted between September 24 and 29 on a C-130 Hercules aircraft, certified by international experts and specialists, including from Russia.
The Open Skies Treaty, signed in 1992 on an initiative of U.S. President George H.W. Bush, established a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34 member states to promote openness and the transparency of military forces and activities.
The treaty entered into force on January 1, 2002 and its regime covers the national territories (land, islands, and internal and territorial waters) of all the treaty signatory states. It is an important element of the European security structure.
