Open Skies Treaty: US to withdraw from arms control deal
The Open Skies Treaty came into force in 2002 and is designed to boost confidence and guarantee against attacks.
But the U.S. Senior Russian officials said Russia was withdrawing from the country due to repeated violations of the terms
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US President Donald Trump later said there was a "very good chance" that Russia would "make a new deal".
"I think we have a very good relationship with Russia, but Russia did not abide by the treaty," Mr. Trump said Thursday. "We will pull in as long as they don't stick."
Officials said the U.S. would formally withdraw from the deal in six months.
"During this review, it has become very clear that it is no longer in America's interest to be a party to the Open Skies Treaty," an official told Reuters news agency.
Some 35 nations, including Russia, Canada and the UK, are in favor of the treaty.
How has Russia reacted?
Russia's foreign ministry insisted it had not violated the treaty and that withdrawing the US would be "very regrettable", adding that the Trump administration was working to "derail all arms control agreements".
"We reject any attempt to justify any of these basic agreements," Alexander Grushko, Russia's deputy foreign minister, told Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
He added, "Nothing stops the discussion on technical issues, which the US is misrepresenting in violation by Russia."
He said any withdrawal would affect the interests of all parties to the treaty, which is also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Development to give trouble to U.S. allies
By abandoning the Open Sky Treaty, the Trump administration is not only abandoning the arms control treaty that was deemed essential to transparency in the Cold War years, but it is also violating an agreement that many experts believe the U.S. So still retain the huge benefits.
The fact has come at a time when the whole structure of arms control is crumbling and a new era of great power competition is doubly troubled.
The Open Skies Treaty came into force in January 2002 and was ratified by some 34 countries. It allows the collection of data on military deployments, military facilities and so on, over the entire territory of another country, for short notice reconnaissance flights armed by specially equipped aircraft.
There have been some problems in recent years and the U.S. has argued - with some justice - that Russia is blocking access to some areas. But critics of the Trump administration's stance on arms control say the reason for fixing the treaty is not to give it up.
Mr. Trump seems to be hearing at least one chance that the U.S. May survive with the open sky, but it will clearly depend on negotiations with Moscow.
Russia's foreign ministry says the U.S. Withdrawal of will affect the interests of all participants. When the U.S. While Russia could clearly use its satellites to gather intelligence, Mr. Trump's decision will create tensions with Washington's European allies, some of whom have access to such satellites.
Earlier this year, US Secretary of Defense Mark Asper accused Russia of violating the treaty by banning flights to the city of Kaliningrad and other areas near Georgia.
"I have a lot of concerns about the treaty at the time because it exists." "It's important to many of our NATO allies that they have the means to operate overflies."
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