Russia: Turkey Breaching Open Skies Treaty, Tensions Escalate

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYMyqDrZV_w]

• Published on Feb 4, 2016
  Russia has accused Turkey of breaching the Open Skies treaty as tensions between the two countries escalate. The Russian Defense Ministry says Turkey refused to allow a reconnaissance plane to overfly its territory near Syria. Russia says the plane’s route was conveyed to the Turkish army in advance, however authorization was refused. The 2002 Open Skies treaty, signed by over 30 nations including Russia and Turkey, enables surveillance flights, giving all signatories the ability to gather information. This comes days after Ankara accused Moscow of a fresh violation of its airspace. Russia dismissed the claim as baseless propaganda. Ties between Ankara and Moscow plummeted after the shooting down of a Russian bomber by Turkey in November of last year. Russia retaliated by slapping crippling economic sanctions on Turkey.

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