MOSCOW, March 17 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will allow Ukrainian military inspectors to carry out an emergency monitoring flight over Russian territory in line with the 2011 Vienna Document on confidence and security-building measures, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
It is the second time the new authorities in Kiev requested an inspection flight over Russian regions bordering with Ukraine, citing fears that Russia could be preparing to invade its neighbor.
Russia initially agreed to allow Ukraine to carry out the flight under the Open Skies Treaty on March 17-24, but later reversed its decision because Ukraine could not finance the mission.
“In line with our obligations under the Vienna Document, we have agreed again to allow a Ukrainian group to inspect our territory,” Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said.
Antonov said the Ukrainian military officials will inspect on March 18-20 parts of the Belgorod and Kursk regions bordering on Ukraine to make sure that the Russian armed forces are not involved in any kind of military activity threatening Ukraine’s security.
In addition, a group of military inspectors from the United States and Germany will fly above Russia and Belarus in the period between March 17 and March 21 on a similar monitoring mission, while a group of military officials from Estonia, France and Belgium will inspect a paratrooper regiment from the Pskov division in line with the Vienna agreement.
The 2011 Vienna Document is composed of politically binding confidence and security-building measures (CSBMs) designed to increase openness and transparency concerning military activities conducted inside the OSCE's zone of application (ZOA), which includes the territory, surrounding sea areas, and air space of all European (Russia from the western border to the Ural Mountains) and Central Asian participating States.
