Trump pulls the U.S. out of surveillance treaty, his latest withdrawal from a major pact

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Thursday that it will withdraw from another major international treaty, a decision expected to disturb European allies as Washington pulls back further from global arms commitments and other pacts.

The Open Skies treaty allows 35 nations, including Russia, to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territory in order to assure that nations are not preparing for military action.

The Trump administration has previously said that Russia has repeatedly violated the terms of the pact, which was brokered three decades ago. Washington maintains that Moscow uses the flights as an opportunity to identify critical infrastructure to target during a potential conflict.

“President Trump has made clear that the United States will not remain a party to international agreements that are being violated by the other parties and are no longer in America’s interests,” said national security advisor Robert O’Brien in an emailed statement.

“We look forward to negotiating with both Russia and China on a new arms control framework that moves beyond the Cold War constructs of the past and helps keep the entire world safe,” the statement added.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a statement that the United States may reconsider its withdrawal should Russia return to full compliance with the treaty.

“This is not a story exclusive to just the Treaty on Open Skies, unfortunately, for Russia has been a serial violator of many of its arms control obligations and commitments,” Pompeo added.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters Thursday that Russia “implements the treaty in ways that contribute to military threats against the United States and our allies and partners.”

“We’ve been clear on these concerns for years, and to your question, the Secretary has had conversations with his allies and partners about these concerns previously,” he added.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/21/trump-withdraws-us-from-open-skies-surveillance-treaty.html