Tensions between Russia and the US continued to rise in August when a Russian plane performed a low level flight over West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Bedminster, where Donald Trump was vacationing at the time.
However, those flights are not the cause of the new restrictions, according to US officials, but their violation of the Open Skies Treaty.
The treaty, which dates back to the Cold War, allows member countries to send unarmed observational flights in order to promote transparency about military activity.
It was reported that the US has concerns about Russian restrictions on American surveillance flights over Kalingrad, an area which is reported to have sophisticated weaponry.
The restrictions prompted US officials to question what the military in Kalingrad may be doing.
A US Department of State Official said the US government will take “reasonable and comparable measures” to deal with Russia’s alleged non-compliance with the treaty.
“We have long had concerns about Russia’s implementation of the Open Skies Treaty. After repeated, unsuccessful attempts to engage Moscow diplomatically, we have elected to take some reasonable and comparable steps in response to Russia’s non-compliance.”
“We hope this will change Russia’s calculus and encourage Russia to engage with us about our concerns more constructively.
“We’re ready to reverse these measures at any time, should Russia come back into compliance with its Open Skies Treaty obligations.”
Richard Aboulafia, a senior aerospace analyst with the Virginia-based Teal group believes the US may be taking actions for one of two reasons.
He said: “One is that they’ve done a very thorough assessment and they’re balancing what the U.S. is getting out of these flights relative to what they think the Russians are getting out of these flights and they’ve decided it’s not worth it.
“The other is that they are doing this for reasons of political showmanship, which is very dangerous.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the reported intention to restrict observational flights is yet another example of tactics to pressure other nations instead of seeking compromise.
He said: “Obviously, that is not a partnership move. We don’t see this treaty as giving any unilateral advantage to any party. The treaty benefits all parties. It’s a necessary valuable document, which should be preserved, but the United States is again demonstrating that it prefers the path of pressure.”