US, Turkey carry out observation flights over Russia

Moscow, Oct 3 (IANS) The US and Turkey carried out observation flights over Russian territory under the Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday.

"The observation flight will be carried out between October 3 and 7 on a Turkish CN-235 aircraft, with Russian experts on board to monitor its compliance with the treaty," Xinhua news agency quoted Sergei Ryzhkov, head of the Russian Defence Ministry's Nuclear Risk Reduction Centre, as saying.

The observation flights are part of the confidence-building measures in Europe after the Cold War under the international Open Skies Treaty, which provides unarmed aerial surveillance flights between member states.

The treaty was signed in March 1992 and came into effect on January 1, 2002. It currently has 34 member states, including Russia and most NATO members.