Russian Surveillance Plane Creates Buzz in Washington

A low-flying Russian airplane created a buzz in Washington. But, it later turned out that that the US Government had cleared it under a long-standing global treaty - the Open Skies Treaty.

The US Capitol Police initially issued a heads-up, saying an "authorized low-altitude aircraft" would enter restricted airspace over the Capitol between 11 AM and 3 PM (local time). They said that this was allowed under the Open Skies Treaty. Russia and the United States are signatories to the treaty, which allows unarmed observation flights over the entire territory of all 34 member nations. The flights are intended to foster transparency about military activity, reduce mistrust or misunderstandings and help monitor arms control and other agreements.

Since the treaty came into force in 2002, there have been more than 1,200 Open Skies flights. According to the Pentagon, the overflights are conducted by unarmed observation aircraft equipped with certain types of film and sensors that are certified under the treaty.

The treaty, for instance, obligates each member to make all of its territory available for aerial observation, yet Rademaker said Russia has imposed restrictions on surveillance over Moscow and Chechnya and near Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions of Georgia now under Russian control.