Russia to quit Open Skies Treaty on December 18

Russia will entirely withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty (OST) on December 18, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Report informs, citing TASS.

“Russia has notified all participating states of its decision to withdraw from the OST six months after the notification was sent. Thus, this will happen on December 18, 2021,” the ministry said.

Russia also sent a request to the depositary states to convene a conference to consider the consequences of Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement.

“The OST depository states have been asked to inform all the participating States of the relevant notification immediately and to convene, as soon as possible, as stipulated by the Treaty (that is, after 30 days) a conference of the participating states to consider the consequences of Russia’s withdrawal,” the document says.