Georgia kills Open Skies Treaty with Russia

Georgia announced that it is breaking its obligations to Russia under the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, saying Moscow attempted to use the accord to “legitimize” its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“Georgia made a decision to cease fulfilling its obligations vis-à-vis the Russian Federation under the Open Skies Treaty” on April 3, the foreign ministry announced.

The treaty, one of a number of East-West arms and intelligence accords that sprang up after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34 signatories.