Russia believes that the US has come to the decision to walk out of the Open Skies Treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday stated that US accusations against Russia of violating the Open Skies Treaty were "baseless”, adding that Washington may have already taken the decision to withdraw from the treaty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told this during video conference with the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund’s delegates.

"Experts who monitor the situation believe that Washington has already made the decision. We believe that there is a significant share of truth in these estimates. We are drawing basically the same conclusions based on our contacts with Americans, with other NATO member states and with other parties to the Open Skies Treaty. Our reaction to Washington's planned, potential or possible decision will depend on how the decision is formulated, on what it means exactly. And we will certainly have to see whether any NATO allies will follow Washington," Lavrov said.