A U.S. surveillance plane carrying Russian and American experts is to make a scheduled flight over Russia this week as part of the international Treaty on Open Skies, the Defense Ministry said.
The OC-135B plane, which will make the flight between Monday and Friday, is not designed to carry weapons, and the photographic equipment on board has passed international certification with the help of Russian specialists, the ministry said in a statement.
"During the flight along the agreed route, Russian and American specialists will jointly control the use of equipment and monitoring systems in compliance with the agreement," the statement said.
The Treaty on Open Skies was signed on March 24, 1992, in Helsinki to provide OSCE member states with the opportunity to monitor one another's military activity by conducting regular monitoring flights.
Thirty-four states have signed the treaty, which Russia ratified in 2001.
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