Russia to limit Open Skies Treaty bases

Russia plans to limit the number of airbases the United States can use to launch reconnaissance flights under the Open Skies Treaty, in a fresh sign of its deteriorating relationship with Washington.

The restrictions will be introduced Jan. 1 in response to U.S. measures to limit Russian military flights in its airspace, said Georgiy Borisenko, head of the Foreign Ministry’s North American department, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

The move is a rollback of an agreement in place since 1992, one of a series of arms-control deals intended to foster trust and transparency as the relationship between the nuclear superpowers thawed at the end of the Cold War. In June, the U.S. accused Russia of violating the treaty by limiting flights over its Kaliningrad enclave in Europe and later took steps to limit flights over Alaska and Hawaii.

With relations between Washington and Moscow at their lowest point in decades, each side has accused the other of violating agreements, including the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. The United States this month committed to sending defensive weapons to Ukraine, drawing an angry response from Moscow, which supports separatists fighting in two eastern regions.

Amid accusations of Kremlin meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Washington is also stepping up sanctions on Russia.