MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - The Treaty on Open Skies could have been saved even after the United States withdrew from it if not only Russia, but also NATO had enough willpower for that, but now blame for the treaty's imminent dismantlement rests fully with Washington and the alliance, Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee head Konstantin Kosachyov said.
"The Russian Foreign Ministry has reaffirmed that our country is beginning procedures to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies. This news was pretty predictable. I'll point out that it was the U.S. that quit the treaty first. However, it could still have been saved if not only Russia had sought that (and we clearly demonstrated that we did), but if the other signatories to the deal, primarily those from NATO, also had enough will for that," Kosachyov said on Facebook on Friday.
"The blame for this very sad scenario fully and completely rests with the U.S. and its NATO allies. Period," he said.
The only thing the NATO countries should have done is undertake exhaustive obligations not to share with the U.S. any information they obtain through implementing the treaty, which directly follows from this agreement, he said.
"Why does it have to be confirmed specifically? Because Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty says, 'The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.' And Article 8 says that 'Each Party [...] undertakes not to enter into any international engagement in conflict with this Treaty'," Kosachyov said.
"And how is this compatible with the Treaty on Open Skies? After all, it has Article 9, according to which 'Data collected by sensors during observation flights shall be made available to States Parties in accordance with the provisions of this Article and shall be used exclusively for the attainment of the purposes of this Treaty'," he said.
In other words, the Treaty on Open Skies prohibits the other NATO countries from passing information to the U.S., while the North Atlantic Treaty obliges them to do so, he said.
"The NATO countries could have found a solution to this legal conflict, if they wanted to save the Treaty on Open Skies from the Americans. However, they preferred to save the Euro-Atlantic partnership," Kosachyov said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier on Friday that Russia was beginning procedures to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies.