A month and a half after the United States said it would withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, there are no signs that other signatories are going to quit the deal, Russia said on Monday, hailing it a "positive thing."
"So far, there are no signs [that other parties to the treaty are planning to withdraw from it] and, naturally, this is a positive thing," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said after a videoconference on the treaty, TASS News Agency reported.
"But neither do we see that U.S. allies – and there were quite a lot of them among those who spoke today – are ready to help resolve the problems we are pointing to," he added.
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Open Skies Treaty: Can remaining parties save the treaty?
A Russian Antonov aircraft stands on the tarmac of Brussels military airport before flying over the Benelux and Germany under the Treaty on Open Skies, August 13, 2002. /AP
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on May 21 that his country was withdrawing from the Treaty on Open Skies, accusing Russia of not adhering to the treaty. Moscow has repeatedly denied any violation.
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a written statement that the decision to withdraw from the treaty will come into effect in six months after May 22.
The treaty, which became effective in 2002, is aimed at building confidence and familiarity among states-parties through their participation in the overflights. Currently, 35 nations, including Russia, the United States, and some other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), have signed it. But Kyrgyzstan, which signed the treaty, has not yet ratified it.
Russia, Belarus call for 'equal, mutually respectful dialogue'
Signatories of the treaty met in Vienna on Monday to assess the consequences of the U.S. pullout from the treaty. Russia and Belarus issued a joint statement and distributed it among the participants at the meeting, in which they expressed regret over Washington's decision.
"This step can seriously damage the architecture of pan-European security and the arms control system," read the statement.
Russia and Belarus, as member states of the treaty, are ready for equal and mutually respectful dialogue aimed at finding a comprehensive solution to the problems of fulfilling the agreement, with no ultimatums and taking into account all its parties' interests and concerns, it said.
Ryabkov said after the meeting that many member nations of the treaty believe that Washington's withdrawal in November is already inevitable.
"Notably, many participants in the videoconference spoke about the United States' withdrawal in November as something foregone. It looks like many have come to terms with this fact," he said.
The diplomat said Russia has lost trust in the U.S. as a contractor, but added that the two countries need to start restoring trust by small steps.
"We don't view the U.S. as a partner who is able to negotiate. We lost trust in Washington as a contractor and probably, there is the need to start gradually restoring it and this needs to be done by the tactics of small steps," Ryabkov said.
The next meeting of the Open Skies Consultative Commission will be held on July 13 and a review conference will be held in October, he revealed.
The treaty represents one of the very few remaining opportunities for military-to-military contact between Washington and Moscow – the Trump administration has withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and is unwilling to renew the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that will expire on February 5 next year.
(With input from Xinhua)