According to Ryzhkov, the atmosphere around these agreements significantly deteriorated. First and foremost, this is due to the destructive actions of the United States. “Declaring the importance of arms control, in fact the current US administration is working hard to scrap the existing system of international security. Washington consistently emerges from any international agreements somehow limit its activity”, – said the head of the National centre for reducing nuclear dangers in an interview with “Krasnaya Zvezda”.
He explained that it concerns international treaties in the sphere of arms control. The first one was the ABM Treaty. “Not long ago, the Americans withdrew from the Treaty on intermediate-range and shorter-range. Now they come for the open skies Treaty. It is known that for any actions of the us administration on the outer contour always viewed two strategic objectives: to ensure the dominance of US financial interests,” – said Ryzhkov.
as an example, he referred to this fact. Immediately after the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, the Americans launched a large-scale work on the creation of strategic missile defence system. On its creation has already spent hundreds of billions of dollars of American taxpayers. And with the advent of hypersonic missile systems, American military-industrial complex will require new hundreds of billions of dollars to bring the opportunities created by the system to an acceptable level of performance. And it just requires us Industrialists, concluded the Russian expert.
He also recalled that a few days after the US withdrawal from the Treaty on intermediate and shorter-range missiles, the Americans have conducted flight tests of missiles, which by its characteristics is subject to the restrictions of this agreement. “It is obvious that work on the establishment prohibited by the Treaty rockets were held incompetent American military-industrial complex long before the US withdrawal from the agreement,” said Ryzhkov.
Now with regard to the Treaty on open skies. 22 may of this year, Washington announced that in six months the United States will be released from this agreement. The excuse that was used the thesis about the alleged violations of Russia. This statement the American government did not find broad support even in the United States.
That the United States is put forward as the main reasons to justify withdrawal from the Treaty? Assessment Ryzhkov, such three positions. First of all, the US and its allies consider illegal the fact that Russia has imposed a limit of 500 miles for flights over the Kaliningrad region. It is no secret that this region is of particular interest to the US and NATO, believes that in recent years Russia allegedly stepped up its military activities. “Our country wouldLa forced to allowed by the contract the measure after a number of Western countries, especially Poland, its chaotic flight under the Treaty has created the conditions that led to the need for a long time shut off all regular civil and commercial air traffic in the region,” explained Jack.
meanwhile, it is known that during the joint observation flight USA, Latvia and Lithuania, held from 18 to 21 February this year, Russia did not prevent aerial inspection of the Kaliningrad region, although its range albeit slightly, but exceeded the specified limit setting is 500 km away. thus, according to Ryzhkov, our country reaffirmed its willingness to find a compromise on the question of the maximum observation flights over this region of the Russian Federation.
Next. The head of the National centre for nuclear threat reduction the Russian Federation has no doubt that the disagreement on DON is political. The US and its allies consider a violation of the Treaty by the fact that Russia denies to foreign States in conducting flights in a ten-kilometer strip along the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We rely on the contract clause, according to which, quote, “the flights are conducted not closer than 10 km from the border States non-party.” While Russia recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent States, and Tbilisi, Washington and other NATO members no.
But on this issue, Russia expressed its readiness to resolve the situation. “We propose to allow flights in the 10 km zone in case Georgia will allow inspectors from Russia overflying its territory. But official Tbilisi, with the support of the US and the UK, continues to block the offer of Russia”, – said Ryzhkov.
Finally, in the past year, Washington has made another claim to Moscow. A controversial incident occurred in September during the strategic command-staff exercises “Center-2019”, in which participated representatives of the countries-CSTO members, China, India and Pakistan. Just at this time, the United States requested permission within DON to implement over the area of the maneuvers. Security reasons, Russia was forced to restrict the second part of the American Supervisory RAID, coinciding with the active phase of the exercise that involved combat and transport aircraft.
“the American inspectors have proposed various solutions to the situation: for example, to make the second part of the mission another day and thus to increase the total time of observation (usually limited to 96 hours). However, our proposals were ignored and in the end, Washington accused Moscow in the next “gross violation” of the agreement”, – explained the official.
In fact, claims to the Americans have much more. About them prepresentatives of the Russian Federation told on 6 July at a conference in the framework of the OSCE devoted to discussion of the consequences of the US withdrawal from the Treaty. The report’s facts indicated that the idea of States as the state party, which is faithfully implementing the open skies Treaty, is not true. “We asked the American side, in particular, that there had been a rejection of the Russian observation aircraft on the territory of the United States, prohibiting the observation of island territories, the establishment of a regime for the flights of Russian aircraft when the crew is working 14 to 18 hours. With our claims to the United States by DON can be found on the official website of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation”, – said Ryzhkov.
from my own experience he knows that the implementation of agreements in the field of arms control there are different kind of controversial situation, both legal and technical nature. The implementation of the DON involved 34 States, and everyone has their own understanding of certain provisions of the Treaty. But these issues are usually solved peacefully within the framework of the Advisory Commission.
All of this suggests that the real reasons for the US withdrawal from the DON’t the ones that declared Americans. For this there are at least two reasons. First, according to Ryzhkov, connected with the desire of Americans to control the whole space (communications, navigation, monitoring space debris, remote sensing, etc.), and that to earn good money in future by selling the appropriate materials.
the Second reason is the reluctance of the US to allow inspections of its territory. “We need to recall that the situation around DON began to deteriorate since September 2013. Then, during inspection of Russian surveillance aircraft An-30B with digital equipment the observations were taken the first attempts of the Americans to limit the Russian Federation, – said the expert. In particular, in 2013, during the international examination digital equipment representatives of the United States – the only States parties – refused to sign the report on the admission of our aircraft flight operations under the contract, referring to instructions from Washington. While the Americans did not even bother to find some excuse to justify their actions. And only eight months later they were forced to recognize the results of the survey”.
meanwhile, Russia benefits in receiving information significantly increased and became apparent. In the US ambiguous attitude to the plans of our country to modernize its fleet under DON. Already several congressmen from the democratic and Republican parties appealed to the then American President Barack Obama urging him “not to give the Russian operationat the territory of the United States with the help of the new spy equipment.” The authors clearly gave to understand that in the US interest would be to consider withdrawal from the agreement.
As mentioned at the time in the us media, against the issue of the Russian permissions to use the latest equipment performed, in addition to legislators, and US intelligence agencies. However, the Department was able to clarify that, in accordance with the open skies Treaty Russia has the right to upgrade the camera. In short, to convince the leadership of his country about the importance of compliance with this multilateral agreement.
Once more the situation worsened after a successful international certification of Russian aircraft observations Tu-154МЛк-1 in 2016 and Tu-214ON in 2018. And the first observation flight with Russian digital observation equipment over the United States in the fall of 2017 has even more urged opponents of the “open skies” in the United States.
After it became obvious, that the introduction into the Contract of advanced technologies, Russia is ahead partners for about 6-7 years.
“with regard to the Treaty on open skies, in modern conditions it is one of the most important instrument of international security. The Russian Federation has always expressed its commitment to the agreement and made every effort for its implementation, – said Ryzhkov. – Today we are ready to dialogue with our partners and to the issues on the basis of reciprocity. To fulfill ultimatum demands and to compromise on issues of our security, we do not intend to.”
