Treaty on Open Skies

For the commercial "open skies" agreements, see Freedoms of the air. For other uses, see Open skies (disambiguation).
Open Skies Treaty
Treaty on Open Skies
Signed24 March 1992[1] (also start of provisional application)
LocationHelsinki
Effective1 January 2002
Condition20 ratifications
Ratifiers35
DepositaryGovernments of Canada and Hungary
LanguagesEnglish, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish

The Treaty on Open Skies establishes a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants. The treaty is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, a direct role in gathering information about military forces and activities of concern to them. It entered into force on 1 January 2002, and currently has 34 party states. The idea of allowing countries to openly surveil each other is thought to prevent misunderstandings (e.g., to assure a potential opponent that one's country is not about to go to war) and limit the escalation of tensions. It also provides mutual accountability for countries to follow through on treaty promises.

The concept of "mutual aerial observation" was initially proposed to Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin at the Geneva Conference of 1955 by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower; however, the Soviets promptly rejected the concept and it lay dormant for several years. The treaty was eventually signed as an initiative of U.S. president (and former Central Intelligence Agency Director) George H. W. Bush in 1989. Negotiated by the then-members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the agreement was signed in Helsinki, Finland, on 24 March 1992.[2]

On 22 November 2020, the United States withdrew from the treaty,[3] and on 15 January 2021, Russia also announced its intention to leave, citing the U.S. withdrawal and the inability of member nations to guarantee that information gathered would not be shared with the U.S.[4] Russia formally withdrew in December 2021.[5]

  1. ^ "Open Skies Treaty". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference stategov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "United States formally withdraws from Open Skies treaty – US & Canada". Al Jazeera. 22 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Russia follows US in withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty". AP NEWS. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ^ @RALee85 (18 December 2021). "Russia has officially withdrawn from the Open Skies Treaty. 314/" (Tweet) – via Twitter.