Lawmaker sounds alarm over possible US withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty
Source: Stars and Stripes
By JOHN VANDIVER | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: October 8, 2019
STUTTGART, Germany — A U.S. withdrawal from a pact that allows the Russian military to be monitored from the air would divide allies and empower Moscow, a top American lawmaker warned after what he said were reports that the Trump administration is considering quitting the Open Skies Treaty.
Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned in a letter Monday to National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien that leaving the 17-year-old accord would be a “reckless action” and “only benefit Russia.”
“NATO allies and partners, and Ukraine in particular, have repeatedly stressed the importance of the Open Skies Treaty for their efforts to monitor Russia’s military,” Engel wrote in a letter prompted by reports that the White House plans to quit the deal. “Withdrawal risks dividing the transatlantic alliance and would further undermine America’s reliability as a stable and predictable partner when it comes to European security.”
Consultations with Congress and allies are essential before any attempt to pull out of the treaty or alter the terms of it, said Engel, a Democrat from New York. Engel did not elaborate on what reports said that the White House was leaning towards pulling out of the treaty. The Trump administration has not publicly stated that it intends to back out of the accord.
Read more: https://www.stripes.com/news/us/lawmaker-sounds-alarm-over-possible-us-withdrawal-from-open-skies-treaty-1.602207
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Can we say he's a Russian asset yet?
