Ukraine, UK, Canada to Fly Over Russia, Belarus in May

Head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that the joint mission of Canada, the United Kingdom and Ukraine will carry out an observation flight over Russia and Belarus on May 2 – 6 under the Open Skies Treaty.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The joint mission of Canada, the United Kingdom and Ukraine will carry out an observation flight over Russia and Belarus on May 2 – 6 under the Open Skies Treaty, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said.

“From May 2 to 6, under the international Open Skies Treaty, a joint mission of Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ukraine will carry out an observation flight over the territory of member states – the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation — aboard a Canadian observation plane C130-J from the Kubinka airfield,” Ryzhkov said on Monday.

Russian specialists will be on board to ensure that the plane and the survey equipment used are in compliance with the treaty, the official stressed.

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 such as the United States.