Šiauliai Air Base of the Lithuanian Air Force will serve as the Open Skies airfield during the observation activities.
In line with the procedures stipulated by the Treaty a group of flight monitors from the Lithuanian Armed Forces will participate in the observation flight along with the inspectors of Russia and Belarus.
“Lithuanian personnel aboard the observation aircraft will use special equipment to verify the flight route and observation of specific rules valid for such flight against the parameters defined in the Treaty on Open Skies,” said Head of the Flight Safety Division of the Lithuanian Air Force Šiauliai Air Base Maj Gintautas Slovikas.
Observation flights are conducted under the Treaty on Open Skies by its state parties to verify that arms control agreements in force are followed by the observed party to the Treaty.
Last flight by a group of Russian and Belarusian arms control inspectors over Lithuania’s territory was conducted in April 2012.
Observation flights are conducted by and in all the countries that are parties to the Treaty on Open Skies of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including members of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The Treaty on Open Skies was ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on 9 December 2004. It is an important tool for arms control promoting greater openness and transparency by means of specific confidence- and security-building measures among the states parties in military sector. The Treaty provides regulations for observation flights conducted by states parties over the territories of other parties to the Treaty. The document also establishes the order for information exchange and execution of joint missions of the states parties.
The first observation flight over Lithuania’s territory under the Treaty on Open Skies took place in October 2005.
The Treaty on Open Skies was concluded on 24 March 1992 in Helsinki (Finland), it came into force on 1 January 2002. Over 30 members of the OSCE are states parties of the Treaty on Open Skies.
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