Russia will not be hysterical about the U.S.' withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies and will carefully consider further steps, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
"We will take an extremely balanced approach to analyzing this situation, relying primarily on our national interests and the interests of our allies," Lavrov said at a news conference following an online meeting of the foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization members.
According to Lavrov, there will be a conference in October to review the implementation of the treaty.
Last week, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that Moscow is open to dialogue with Washington on the treaty, but only if it is based on equal rights and aimed at mutual consideration of interests and concerns.
The treaty, which became effective in 2002, allows members to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over each other's territories to collect data on military activities.
Currently, 35 countries, including Russia, the United States, and some other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, are members. Kyrgyzstan has signed the treaty, though it has not ratified it yet.
