The United States exited the Treaty on Open Skies on Sunday, six months after the Trump administration signaled it would. The administration cited repeated Russian Federation violations of the treaty designed to allow unarmed aerial surveillance flights by the treaty participants in Europe, Russia, and the U.S.

“Today marks six months since the United States submitted our notice of withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies,” national security adviser Robert O’Brien said. “We are now no longer a party to this treaty that Russia flagrantly violated for years. POTUS has never ceased to put America first by withdrawing us from outdated treaties and agreements that have benefited our adversaries at the expense of our national security.”

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