Russia to leave Open Skies Treaty on Dec. 18

MOSCOW, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that the country will officially withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies on Dec. 18 this year.

The ministry said in a statement that it notified all the related parties of Russia's pullout on Friday and the decision will enter into force in six months.

The ministry recalled Russia's efforts to preserve the arms-control pact and reiterated that the United States is responsible for its collapse.

After Washington announced its withdrawal last year, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in January that the country had started domestic legal procedures for the pullout from the treaty.

On June 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to quit the Treaty on Open Skies.

The multilateral pact, which came into effect in 2002, allows its states-parties to conduct short-notice, unarmed reconnaissance flights over the others' territories to collect data on military forces and activities.