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History
See other History Articles

Title: Treaty on Open Skies/The Open Skies Treaty
Source: Various
URL Source: [None]
Published: Nov 22, 2014
Author: Various
Post Date: 2014-11-22 06:42:37 by GreyLmist
Keywords: Open Skies Treaty, International, Surveillance, Flyovers
Views: 319
Comments: 12

This is Google's cache of http://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/8535.htm. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Oct 21, 2014 21:23:31 GMT.

Archive information released online from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009.

History of the Department of State During the Clinton Presidency (1993-2001)
Released by the Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs

Appendix 1: Chronology of the Department of State During the Clinton Administration

November 3, 1993: The United States ratified the Open Skies Treaty, which had been signed March 24, 1992 and approved by the Senate August 6, 1993.

Treaty on Open Skies - Wikipedia

History

At a Geneva Conference meeting with Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin in 1955, President Eisenhower proposed that the United States and Soviet Union conduct surveillance overflights of each other's territory to reassure each country that the other was not preparing to attack.[3] The fears and suspicions of the Cold War led Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev to reject Eisenhower's proposal.[3] Thirty-four years later, the Open Skies concept was reintroduced by President George H. W. Bush as a means to build confidence and security between all North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Warsaw Pact countries.

In February 1990, an international Open Skies conference involving all NATO and Warsaw Pact countries opened in Ottawa, Canada. Subsequent rounds of negotiations were held in Budapest, Hungary, Vienna, Austria, and Helsinki, Finland.

On March 24, 1992,[1] the Open Skies Treaty was signed in Helsinki by Secretary of State James Baker and foreign ministers from 23 other countries. The treaty entered into force on January 2, 2002, after Russia and Belarus completed ratification procedures.

In November 1992, President Bush assigned responsibility for overall training, management, leadership, coordination and support for U.S. Open Skies observation missions to the On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA), now a part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). Until entry into force in January 2002, DTRA support for the treaty involved participating in training and joint trial flights (JTFs). The U.S. has conducted over 70 JTFs since 1993. By March 2003, DTRA had successfully certified 16 camera configurations on the OC-135B aircraft. They also had contributed to the certification of the Bulgarian AN-30, Hungarian AN-26, POD Group (consisting of Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain) C-130H,Romanian AN-30, Russian AN-30, and Ukrainian AN-30. The United States successfully flew its first Open Skies mission over Russia in December 2002.

With entry into force of the treaty, formal observation flights began in August 2002. During the first treaty year, States Parties conducted 67 observation flights. In 2004, States Parties conducted 74 missions, and planned 110 missions for 2005. On March 8 and 9, 2007, Russia conducted overflights of Canada under the Treaty.[4] The OSCC continues to address modalities for conducting observation missions and other implementation issues.

Since 2002 a total of 40 missions have taken place over the UK there were 24 quota missions conducted by: Russia—20; Ukraine—three; and Sweden—one. There were 16 training flights conducted by: Benelux (joint with Estonia); Estonia (joint with Benelux); Georgia—three (one joint with Sweden); Sweden—three (one joint with Georgia); USA - three; Latvia; Lithuania; Romania; Slovenia; and Yugoslavia.[5] Also since 2002 the UK has undertaken a total of 51 open skies missions. 38 were quota missions to the following countries: Ukraine (five); Georgia (seven) and Russia (26). 13 missions were training missions to the following nations: Bulgaria; Yugoslavia; Estonia; Slovenia (three); Sweden (three); USA; Latvia, Lithuania and the Benelux. Until 2008 they used an Andover aircraft but since then they have used a variety of aircraft including a Saab 340, An30, and an OS-135.[6] The flights cost approximately £50,000 per operational mission, and approximately £25,000 for training missions with an approximate annual cost of £175,000.[7]

Open Skies Treaty - fas.org

President [GHW] Bush revived the Open Skies concept in May 1989.

Each of the parties to the Treaty on Open Skies will permit unarmed aircraft operated by any other party to fly over its territory to observe military forces and activities. By allowing the participants to gain insights and understanding into the military capabilities of potential adversaries, the treaty can, according to its supporters, build confidence, reduce the chances of military confrontation, and encourage cooperation among the nations of Europe.

This report provides basic information about the rationale for the Open Skies Treaty, the provisions that govern its implementation, and the capabilities of the aircraft and sensors that will be used during the observation flights. This information can help Congress review the implementation of the treaty; it may also help Members respond to concerns that constituents may raise about the presence of Open Skies aircraft and observation flights around the country. The first section of this report briefly reviews the history of negotiations on Open Skies. The second discusses key provisions of the 1992 treaty. The third reviews the current status of the treaty and its implementation.

The parties to the Treaty on Open Skies have agreed to permit unarmed aircraft to conduct observation flights over their entire territories. [...] Open Skies aircraft can be equipped with four types of sensors: optical panoramic and framing cameras, video cameras; infrared line-scanning devices; and sideways-looking synthetic aperture radars. These sensors must be based on off-the-shelf technology that is available to all participants in the treaty. The treaty includes quotasvthat specify maximum numbers of observation flights that can occur within each nation each year and the maximum number of observation flights each nation can conduct each year. For the United States, these quotas are 42 flights per year

Poster Comment:

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This is Google's cache of http://www.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/1997/8/article/
no-spies-just- open-skies-on-test-flights/301697.html. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Oct 27, 2014 15:32:26 GMT.

No Spies, Just Open Skies, on Test Flights

By Andrei Zolotov Jr. Aug. 21 1997 00:00

KUBINKA, Central Russia -- A Russian AN-30 military plane lifted off into sunny skies from the Kubinka air base Wednesday morning with an unusual cargo -- U.S. military observers armed with what in less friendly times might have been termed spy cameras.

Their mission, on a flight that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, was to photograph sensitive military areas as the plane flew south over Lipetsk, Krasnodar and Engels.

It's all part of an effort to persuade the Russian State Duma that the Open Skies Treaty, signed by Russia, the United States and 25 other countries in 1992, is no big threat to national security and should be ratified.

The U.S. Congress ratified the treaty in [1983 1993], but it cannot take effect until the legislatures in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus approve it.

Originally proposed by former U.S. president Dwight Eisenhower in 1955 as a confidence-building measure, the treaty was rejected by the Soviet Union. It was revived by former president George Bush at the end of the Cold War to improve transparency among nations about their military capabilities. Data from flights becomes available to all participants.

In keeping with treaty rules, the U.S. team that flew out Wednesday gave the Russians only 24 hours notice of the route. Russian pilots flew the plane, while the U.S. team was allowed to turn the cameras on and off at will.

Several hours after their departure from the air base 65 kilometers west of Moscow, a U.S. [...] modified Boeing [...] -- left the same runway with a group of U.S. and Russian military officers and journalists.

They spent two hours circling Kubinka to demonstrate the reconnaissance plane's capabilities and film a special target laid out on the airfield. Later, the U.S. and Russian technicians were to develop the 6-inch-wide film and confirm that the camera had produced a 30-centimeter resolution prescribed by the Open Skies Treaty.

On a similar mission three weeks ago, a Russian military team [...] took photographs over the U.S. states of Michigan, Georgia and Florida, including Cape Canaveral. Several deputies from the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, accompanied them in an escort plane. Among them was Valery Vorotnikov, a former KGB general who is now a Communist deputy on the Duma's security committee.

On Wednesday on the Kubinka tarmac, Vorotnikov said that while ratification of the treaty is "not a very simple question," his personal opinion is that it should be approved -- though it will be difficult to persuade many Duma deputies.

"The political side of the question is that many political changes have taken place since 1992," said Vorotnikov, explaining that NATO's expansion eastward has "created difficulties in relations with NATO and the U.S.A."

Other U.S.- Russian treaties, such as a chemical weapons ban and the START II accord on reducing strategic missiles, also await ratification by the reluctant Communist-dominated Duma.

One argument for approving Open Skies, Vorotnikov said, is that it would help Russia verify NATO's commitment not to deploy nuclear weapons on its new member states.

The difference between the two missions this summer is that Russians were allowed to fly their own plane over the United States, while the American mission was given the "taxi option" of flying in a Russian plane. The treaty gives the host country the right to dictate the option.

Political differences seemed absent among the Americans and Russians in Kubinka, but caution was evident. As a U.S. officer loaded a 14.5-kilogram canister with film, a Russian officer looked carefully over his shoulder to document every move.

"This is a confidence-building measure, not a spies-with-permission measure," said [...] as the engines roared and the screens inside the [...] showed the airfield markings and the blocks of the Russian air base below.

The 30-centimeter resolution for optic sensors prescribed by the treaty allows observers to distinguish a truck from a tank and tell whether an air base is on alert, but it cannot provide more detailed intelligence. U.S. and Russian spy satellites can provide resolution several times greater.

"Interactions made here are at least as important as the film that is taken," said [...]. "I could not have imagined that 20 years ago."

He began his career then as a navigator on an electronic combat plane, whose mission was to serve as a backup command post in case the ground-based facility was wiped out by a Soviet nuclear attack.

While the U.S. and Russian Open Skies teams have overcome their mutual suspicions during four years of contact, their confidence has not filtered down to all ordinary officers yet.

"The less we show them, the better," said Sergei Khromenyanko, a young air force officer who helped service the U.S. plane in Kubinka.

[...] said that such attitudes are typical of first encounters, but fade as they are become more routine.

He also said that early in the negotiations there was fear of cheating on flights to gather illegal data.

"Cheating is easy to spot," said [...]. "The penalty for cheating, diplomatically, would be very severe."

Bracketed edits.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-22   7:56:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

This is Google's cache of http://www.armscontrol.org/node/2956. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Oct 15, 2014 06:27:31 GMT.

Open Skies Treaty: Realizing the Full Potential of the Open Skies Treaty
(June 17, 2010)
Arms Control Today

The Russian Duma approved the Open Skies Treaty on April 18 by a vote of 281-103, moving it closer to entry into force. The treaty still must be approved by the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, and by President Vladimir Putin. But passage by the Duma, the lower and more powerful Russian legislative body, stood as the major test for Russian ratification. Belarus, which has said it would act once Russia did, must also ratify the treaty before it can enter into force.

Signed in March 1992 between the members of NATO and the former Warsaw Pact, the Open Skies Treaty permits states-parties to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over the entire territory of other states-parties to collect data on their military activities and weaponry. Open Skies aircraft may be equipped with cameras, infrared sensors, and other equipment that could allow observing parties to distinguish between tanks and trucks. Parties conducting overflights must provide at least 72-hours notice and supply a mission plan 24 hours in advance.

Based roughly on the size of each country's territory, every state-party is assigned a passive quota, the maximum number of flights it must allow annually over its own territory, and an active quota, the maximum number of total flights per year it may conduct over other states-parties. The United States, which ratified the treaty in December 1993, and Russia have passive quotas of 42, the highest of all states-parties.

All countries with a passive quota of eight or greater must ratify the treaty before it can enter into force. Thus, Belarus, which shares Russia's passive quota, must also ratify the treaty to trigger its entry into force. Except for Russia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan, all of the other 27 treaty signatories have completed ratification.

Russia's delay in ratification has been attributed to several factors, including cost, which Moscow has increased by insisting that overflights of its territory be conducted in Russian planes rather than observing countries' aircraft.

While awaiting entry into force, treaty signatories, including Russia, have conducted joint trial flights. Since 1993, the United States has participated in 76 such flights.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-22   8:13:39 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

This is Google's cache of http://en.ria.ru/russia/20141020/194307267/
Russia-to-Conduct-Observation-Flight-Over-US-Under-Open-Skies.html. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Nov 16, 2014 20:36:36 GMT.

Russia to Conduct Observation Flight Over US Under Open Skies Treaty: Official

Russia 00:15 20.10.2014(updated 18:35 28.10.2014)

MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russian inspectors will conduct an observation flight over the territory of the United States under the Treaty on Open Skies, Sergei Zabello, acting chief of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said.

"As part of the international Treaty on Open Skies a Russian team of inspectors plans to carry out an observation flight on a Russian [...] observation aircraft, over the territory of the United States," Zabello said.

It will be Russia's 33rd observation flight conducted under the treaty this year.

According to Zabello, the observation flight will be carried out on October 20-25, 2014 from the [...] US state of [...].

"The maximum range of the flight above the United States will stand at 4,250 kilometers [2,640 miles]," Zabello noted, adding that the "observation flight is being conducted with the aim of promoting greater transparency of military activities" and "strengthening security through confidence-building measures".

The Treaty on Open Skies, which was signed on March 24, 1992 in Helsinki, established a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34 member-states.

The treaty came into force on January 1, 2002. Russia ratified the treaty on May 26, 2001.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-22   8:34:59 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

US plane flying over Russian airspace, taking photos of military equipment http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/11/20/386738/
us-plane-spies-on-russia-military-power/

Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:50AM

The US military has conducted surveillance missions over the Russian airspace, capturing images of the country’s military equipment.

A US observation plane has been flying over Russian skies during the past several days, Stars and Stripes reported on Wednesday.

The US says the mission was done under the Open Skies Treaty that allows a limited number of observation flights. Russia, the United States and a number of other countries have signed the treaty.

“Most of the world has no idea this treaty even exists,” [...], who is overseeing the mission this week, said.

“Whenever I mention that Russians fly aircraft over the US taking pictures, it blows people’s minds,” he added.

The surveillance mission comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

President Barack Obama accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of supporting pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin, however, denies the accusation.

The Obama administration and the European Union have so far imposed sanctions on Moscow over the issue.

During a speech at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia last week, Obama slammed Russia as a “threat to the world” and said his country was leading the world in opposing “Russia’s aggression” against Ukraine.

Obama said the US was “the world’s only super power” that has unique responsibilities.

On Tuesday, Putin said Washington wants to subdue Moscow, but will never succeed.

"They do not want to humiliate us, they want to subdue us, solve their problems at our expense," Putin said. "No one in history ever managed to achieve this with Russia, and no one ever will.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham called on Obama to “impose a far greater cost” on Putin by providing Ukrainian forces with weapons.

"Providing Ukrainians with the ability to defend themselves would impose a far greater cost on Putin than he has paid thus far,” they said.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-22   9:06:27 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Bomb Pooty Poot back into the stone age.

Cynicom  posted on  2014-11-22   9:27:23 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Should have done more proofreading/editing of the opening post and would condense it down considerably if I could for faster reading -- the Wikipedia History, particularly -- but can't now. Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda but that's about as open source as it gets if anyone would rather just breeze past the last 3 paragraphs of that entry after the bolded Russia/Belarus ratification sentence and maybe check the site some other time if they want to for further details.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-22   9:42:46 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Bomb Pooty Poot back into the stone age.

Don't you think they'd bomb us back close to that?

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-22   9:57:25 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Don't you think they'd bomb us back close to that?

Note I restricted it to Pooty Poot alone, to aggravate Putin admirers here.

Never trust a Russian, your life depends on it.

Cynicom  posted on  2014-11-22   10:06:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Note I restricted it to Pooty Poot alone, to aggravate Putin admirers here.

So you did precisely specify him alone. Thanks for the clarification. Is it just because he's a Russian leader that you speak so disdainly of him or has he particularly rankled you by some action(s)?

Edited sentence 1.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-23   21:08:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Is it just because he's a Russian

Never trust a Russian. Your life depends on it.

Cynicom  posted on  2014-11-23   21:27:08 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

Never trust a Russian. Your life depends on it.

I trust that you're not being frivolous or facetious whenever you say that so thanks for the advice.

Edited spelling.

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"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC

GreyLmist  posted on  2014-11-23   22:58:10 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

I trust that you're not being frivolous or facetious

Your trust is well placed.

One may decide for themselves, if they really are interested in facts. All one has to do is view a world map.

The US started out with one colony, now we have 50 states. Russia started with one city and became the largest country in the world. The US gave up aspirations of growth by force long ago, Russia still harbors an intense desire to rule the world, by force or intimidation.

At the end of WWII, the US could have ruled the world by force, but there was NO SUCH DESIRE. Russia on the other hand, before the war ended was plotting on how to take all of western Europe, by subversion, intimidation and or force if necessary.

That is why we have never left Europe and cannot ever leave.

Cynicom  posted on  2014-11-24   4:17:04 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

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