Defense Ministry says U.S.-Czech Open Skies mission denial lawful
MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry commented on Tuesday on the allegedly illegal denial of the U.S. Open Skies mission in Russia, which had been repeatedly deferred.
"We have paid attention to U.S. media reports alleging an unlawful ban of the Russian Federation on the U.S. observation flight above the Russian Federation. We would like to present the real story," the ministry's press service and information department quoted Anatoly Antonov as saying.
The United States and the Czech Republic posted the Open Skies mission notice on April 10, 2014. The U.S. observation aircraft was scheduled to arrive in the Kubinka airfield on April 14, says the report seen by Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
The U.S.-Czech Open Skies mission did not arrive in Russia on time but asked for a 24-hour deferral. Russia "accepted the new arrival time in a goodwill gesture although item 2 section I article VIII of the Open Skies Treaty said that the observation flight might be banned if the observation aircraft failed to arrive at the destination point within 24 hours," the report runs.
"The U.S. observation aircraft did not arrive in Kubinka by the new deadline either and the U.S. side asked for postponing the arrival until April 16," Antonov said.
"Acting in strict compliance with the Treaty and considering more than two deferrals of the team's arrival and the financial loses incurred by the Russian Federation in mission support, the U.S.-Czech team was denied arrival in Kubinka," Antonov said.
He dismissed as "impermissible any speculation on the fulfillment of international agreements." "We reaffirm our adherence to the Open Skies Treaty commitments," the ministry press service quoted Antonov as saying.
