U.S. Surveillance Plane to Fly Over Russia

By The Moscow Times

Nov. 19, 2012

A U.S. surveillance plane carrying Russian and American experts is scheduled to fly over Russia this week as part of the international Treaty on Open Skies, the Defense Ministry said.

The OC-135B plane, which will make the flight between Monday and Friday, is not designed to carry weapons, and the photographic equipment on board has passed international certification with the help of Russian specialists, the ministry said in a statement.

The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in 1992. Under the treaty, countries that belong to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe let fellow member states monitor one another's military activity via regular monitoring flights.

Thirty-four states have signed the treaty, which Russia ratified in 2001.

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