Romania, US to Launch Observation Flights over Russia, Belarus

A joint mission of Romanian and US inspectors is to make observation flights over the territory of Russia and Belarus in the period July 28 – August 1.

The mission is conducted within the frame of the Open Skies Treaty. The observation flights will be done on a Romanian reconnaissance aircraft Antonov An-30, Sergei Ryzhkov, head of the Russian National Center for Reducing Nuclear Threat said, as cited by Itar-Tass.

The aircraft and the installed monitoring devices received international certificate guaranteeing that all equipment is in accordance with the Treaty.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992, and it currently has 34 member states. The key tasks of the Treaty are the development of transparency, monitoring the fulfillment of arms control agreements, the prevention and control of crisis situations within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations.