NEWS RELEASES
CANADA WELCOMES RUSSIAN OVERFLIGHT UNDER OPEN SKIES CONFIDENCE AND SECURITY-BUILDING REGIME
August 6, 1997 No. 129
CANADA WELCOMES RUSSIAN OVERFLIGHT UNDER
OPEN SKIES CONFIDENCE AND SECURITY-BUILDING REGIME
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Minister of National Defence Art
Eggleton announced today that a team of Russian military experts are visiting
Canada August 4-9, 1997, to conduct a trial overflight under the terms of the Open
Skies Treaty.
"This overflight is a new and encouraging dimension of the ongoing co-operation
between Canada and Russia in building Euro-Atlantic security. We are very pleased
to be participating in this first Russian overflight of North America," said
Mr. Axworthy. "We hope this signals that Russia will soon complete its
ratification of this important confidence-building mechanism," added the Minister.
"The Canadian Forces have built a strong reputation in the field of arms control
and confidence-building measures. This exercise provides them with another
opportunity to participate in activities designed to demonstrate openness and
build trust. They will be able to interact with their Russian counterparts and put
into practice the Treaty's military overflight receiving procedures," said Mr.
Eggleton.
The Open Skies Treaty permits the 27 European, Central Asian and North American
State Parties to conduct short-notice overflights of one another's territory to
collect information on military forces and their deployment. Canada is among
several State Parties to the Treaty that have conducted trial observation flights
since 1990 in order to demonstrate the capacity of the Open Skies regime to
enhance transparency among the participating states. The Treaty will come into
force once Russia and Ukraine complete the process of ratification.
Canada was a key proponent, as well as the host, of the original Open Skies
negotiations and is, along with Hungary, a Co-depositary of the Treaty. The
conclusion of the Open Skies Treaty was an important advance in the development of
confidence- and security-building measures in the immediate post-Cold War period
when it was negotiated between North Atlantic Treaty Organization and then-Warsaw
Pact members in 1991 in Ottawa. Today, the Open Skies regime offers a significant
opportunity to build valuable military-to-military contacts and co-operation among
the participating states.
The Russian flight over Canada is immediately preceded by one Russia will conduct
over the United States. Russia is required to provide Canadian military officials
with a flight plan not less than 24 hours before conducting the flight. Under the
terms of the Treaty, Russia is entitled to photograph anything it considers of
military interest using only equipment that cannot register objects of less than
30 cm across.
On Friday, August 8, 1997, between 10 a.m. and noon, media representatives
interested in visiting the Russian aircraft are invited to the Ottawa
International Airport. Some crew members along with Canadian representatives will
be present. This media presentation is organized by the media liaison office of
the Department of National Defence.
A media backgrounder on the Open Skies Treaty is available upon request by
contacting the Media Liaison Officer, Department of National Defence.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
Media Liaison Officer
Department of National Defence
(613) 996-2353
This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
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