Six months after outgoing president Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw because he claimed Russia was violating it, the United States withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty became official Sunday, the Washington Post reports.
“Today marks six months since the United States submitted our notice of withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies,” White House national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien said in a statement. “We are now no longer a party to this treaty that Russia flagrantly violated for years.”
With 33 other signatory nations, the Open Skies Treaty has allowed member nations to conduct unarmed flights over any other signatory to verify treaties and promote transparency in military operations.