The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday the country would begin the procedure to withdraw from the Open Skies treaty, a pact that allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries.

"As no progress is made in removing obstacles that hinder treaty functioning in the new conditions, the Russian Foreign Ministry is authorized to announce the beginning of domestic procedures for withdrawing the Russian Federation from the Open Skies Treaty. When the procedures are completed, a notification will be sent to depositories," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The move comes after the United States left the treaty in November. 

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U.S. withdraws from Open Skies Treaty, Russia hopes remaining parties meet commitments

The treaty, which became effective in 2002, allows its 34 State Parties to conduct short-notice, unarmed reconnaissance flights over the others' entire territories to collect data on military forces and activities.

The United States and Russia have blamed each other for noncompliance with the treaty. Washington and Moscow have each put a few limits on flights over their territories – Hawaii and some other U.S. bases have been off-limits, as has Kaliningrad, among others, according to media reports.

(Cover: A Russian Su-27 fighter tracks a U.S. P-8A Poseidon surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft over the Baltic, September 17, 2020. /CFP)