Russia announces its withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty following U.S. exit

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia says it will withdraw from an international treaty allowing observation flights over military facilities following the U.S. exit from the pact. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that the U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty last year “significantly upended the balance of interests of signatory states,” adding that Moscow’s proposals to keep the treaty alive after the U.S. exit have been cold-shouldered by Washington’s allies. The treaty was intended to build trust between Russia and the West by allowing the accord’s more than three dozen signatories to conduct reconnaissance flights over each other’s territories to collect information about military forces and activities.