The Trump administration followed through on its plans to exit the Treaty on Open Skies, a pact signed in 1992 that was intended to reduce the risk of war by allowing Russia and the West to carry out unarmed reconnaissance flights over each other’s territories.
Not only that, the administration, on its way out the door, is reportedly taking measures to prevent President-elect Joe Biden from being able to easily rejoin the treaty, most notably by moving to get rid of the U.S. Air Force planes that have been used to carry out the nearly accord.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), sponsor of a House resolution calling for the administration to reverse its planned exit from the treaty on Open Skies, decried the move as the latest example from the president of “his go-it-alone foreign policy, a policy which has failed.”
“The Trump doctrine of alienating our friends, withdrawing from hard-fought agreements like the Iran Deal and the Paris Agreement, and weakening our alliances, has made our country less safe,” said Beyer, who served as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein during the Obama administration.
“I hope and expect that President-elect Biden will be able to heal much of that damage,” Beyer said. “The future peace and prosperity of the United States depends on reasserting leadership, engagement, and diplomacy. I look forward to seeing new progress soon under the Biden Administration, which should include rejoining the Treaty on Open Skies. In the meantime, I will continue working to build support for this and other diplomatic reengagement in Congress.”
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Chris Graham
