Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law, completing Russia's withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty (OST), the Kremlin said on Monday.
The bill was initiated by Putin after the US announced its intention to withdraw from the treaty and was approved by both chambers of the Russian parliament -- the State Duma and the Council of Federation -- the Kremlin said in a statement.
"The USA withdrew from the Treaty under a far-fetched pretext, which significantly violated the balance of interests of the parties to the Treaty -- and reached at conclusion. Thus, compliance with the Treaty and its importance in building confidence and transparency were seriously damaged, and the national security of the Russian Federation was threatened.
"In connection with these circumstances, a decision was made to withdraw the Russian Federation from the Treaty," the statement noted.
The US launched the withdrawal process from the OST in November under the former Donald Trump administration, triggering a symmetrical response from Russia.
