MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UK inspectors will conduct an observation flight over the territories of Russia and Belarus under the Treaty on Open Skies, the acting head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said on Monday.
The flight will be carried out on June 8-11 using the Swedish Saab 340 aircraft, Ruslan Shishin said.
"The Russian experts on board of the observation aircraft will control the strict adherence to the agreed parameters of the flight of the plane," Shishin added.
The 34-nation Treaty on Open Skies was signed in 1992 in Finland and currently applies most NATO member states, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, and Sweden. The treaty establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territory of its participants with the aim of boosting transparency of military activities.
Russia ratified the treaty on May 26, 2001.
On June 1, Russian inspectors conducted an observation flight over the territory of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland.