MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian specialists would carry out an observance flight over the territories of the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Open Skies Treaty, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said Monday.
"The observation flight at a maximum range of 2,400 kilometers [1,491 miles] will be carried out from May 23 to May 28 from the Brize Norton Open Skies airport," Sergei Ryzhkov said.
He added that in a period starting from May 23 until May 27 a joint French-German mission would carry out an observance flight over Russia and Belarus.
The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in March 1992 and became one of the major confidence-building measures in Europe after the Cold War. It entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 states parties, including Russia and most NATO members.
