BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/08/2007

Russia, Belarus to inspect Poland under open skies military treaty

MOSCOW. Aug 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian and Belarusian inspectors will make a monitoring flight over Poland between August 13 and 17 in line with the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement.

"The flight will be made on a Russian Antonov An-30B observation aircraft within the range set by the treaty - 1,400 kilometers," an official statement of the ministry says.

The agreement by member states of NATO and the then Warsaw Pact encourages "reciprocal openness on the part of the participating states" and allows the observation of military activities through unarmed observation flights. The treaty also included provisions for on-site inspections to verify compliance with current and future arms control agreements.

Between August 13 and 17 an open skies mission by Finland and Estonia will make an observation flight on a SAAB 340 aircraft over Russian territory.

"During the flights officials from treaty signatory countries will verify the observance of flight parameters and provisions stipulated by the treaty," the report says.

The treaty, signed on March 24, 1992, entered into force on January 1, 2002. Thirty-four countries in Europe and North America are parties to it. The flights are intended to promote openness and transparency in the military operations of signatory countries and strengthen security through confidence-building measures.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/5/302289/news.aspx