MOSCOW. July 22 (Interfax-AVN) - U.S. military experts on observation planes will make an observation flight over Russia and Belarus in the framework of the Open Skies treaty next week, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
Twenty-five experts, including the crew of the OC-135B observation aircraft, will take part in the flight, the spokesman told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"It will be this year's sixth inspection flight of U.S. experts over the Russian territory in 2005 in the framework of the treaty," he said.
At the same time, from July 25 to 29, Russian military experts will make an observation flight over Great Britain and Northern Ireland on an An-30B observation plane in the framework of the treaty, the spokesman said.
Thirty-four countries in Europe and North America are now parties to the Open Skies Treaty that came in force in 2002. The treaty envisages for aerial inspections over the territories of participating countries for monitoring of forces locations and projection. Member-countries are to grant the inspecting countries opportunities of unlimited flights over the territories on all routes required.
Russian military experts made an inspection flight over the U.S. territory in mid-July. They covered 4,900 km aboard the Tu-154M-LK-1 plane and made aerial photography of various facilities.