Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow is now launching the relevant procedural steps to withdraw from the pact.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared Washington’s intention to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty in May, arguing that Russian violations made it untenable for the United States to remain a part. The United States completed its withdrawal from the pact in November.
Russia has denied violating the treaty, which came into force in 2002. The European Union asked the US to reconsider and asked Russia to remain in the pact.
Moscow has argued that the withdrawal from the U.S. will erode global security, making it more difficult for governments to interpret other nations’ intentions, particularly amid Russia-West tensions following Russia’s Crimean annexation of Ukraine in 2014.