RUSSIA SEEKS OVERFLIGHTS IN OPEN SKIES TREATY

Russia will require the member states of the Open Skies Treaty to allow flights over US facilities on their territory and undertake not to transfer the data of flights over Russia to the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with domestic and foreign media, according to a report from Tass.

"If they want to keep the treaty in force and if we want to stay in it, we will require our partners to confirm to us in writing and legally that, first of all, they will not prohibit flights over any part of their territory. Whether or not there are US bases there, this is their territory, the territory of Western countries staying in the treaty," Russia’s top diplomat pointed out.

"Secondly, they should undertake not to transfer the data on the flights over the Russian Federation to the United States," Lavrov added.

The Treaty on Open Skies rules out the possibility of transferring the data obtained during inspection flights to the countries that are not parties to it, the Russian foreign minister pointed out.