MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - A joint mission of Canada and the United States will perform an observation flight onboard a Canadian C-130 observation aircraft from the Tiksi airfield in Russia on July 4-9 under the Open Skies Treaty.
"Russian specialists will participate in the flight along the approved route to control strict compliance with the flight plan and use of observation instruments prescribed by the Treaty," head of the National Nuclear Threat Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov told Interfax.
The C-130 observation plane is not designed to carry weapons.
The plane and its observation instruments (aerial cameras) have passed international certification involving Russian specialists, which rules out the use of technical means unpermitted by the Treaty, Ryzhkov said.