Belarus regrets USA’s withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty

        Belarus regrets the USA’s decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty, BelTA learned from Andrei Shuplyak, Deputy Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.According to the spokesman, the treaty is of special importance for our country. It was one of the first international law tools Belarus had acceded to after gaining independence. The Open Skies Treaty is one of the most significant and effectively working military and political tools in the space between Vancouver and Vladivostok.The official went on saying: “The USA is an important party to the treaty and makes an essential contribution to its successful implementation. We firmly believe that all problems can be and should be resolved by means of an equal and mutually respectful dialogue within the framework of the Open Skies Consultative Commission, which was created specifically to resolve issues relating to the observance of the treaty’s provisions.”Belarus is ready for constructive cooperation with all the states parties to the treaty for the sake of strengthening the Open Skies Treaty and improving its effectiveness, including in anticipation of the fourth conference on reviewing the treaty’s effect. The conference is scheduled to take place in 2020.