Military Plane's Observation Flyover of US Posed No Danger – Russian Legislator

10.08.2017 08:09

Military Plane's Observation Flyover of US Posed No Danger – Russian Legislator

According to Russian lawmaker, the observation flight by a Russian military aircraft over Washington was conducted within the framework of the Open Skies Treaty and did not pose danger.

The observation flight by a Russian military aircraft over Washington was conducted within the framework of the Open Skies Treaty and did not pose danger, since there are no weapons on board such aircraft, a senior lawmaker from Russia's upper house of parliament told Sputnik on Thursday.

"The purpose of such flights is to see how various arms control agreements are being implemented, control over military activities exercised," Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council's defense and security committee, said, adding that such flights could not pose a danger to the other side, since there were no weapons on board these aircraft.

CNN reported earlier Thursday citing sources that "an unarmed Russian Air Force aircraft overflew the US Capitol, the Pentagon, Central Intelligence Agency and Joint Base Andrews at low altitude on Wednesday" within the framework of the Open Skies Treaty.

The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in March 1992 and entered into force on January 1, 2002. It became one of the major confidence-building and arms-control measures in Europe after the Cold War. The treaty has established a regime of observation flights over the states that had signed the accord to gather information about military forces and activities.