Press Releases
Beyer Statement On Trump Administration’s Withdrawal From Open Skies Treaty
Washington,
November 24, 2020
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), sponsor of a House Resolution calling for the Trump Administration to reverse its planned exit from the Treaty on Open Skies, issued the following statement today on the Trump Administration’s exit from the Treaty on Open Skies: “Trump’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies is the latest example of his go-it-alone foreign policy, a policy which has failed. The Trump doctrine of alienating our friends, withdrawing from hard-fought agreements like the Iran Deal and the Paris Agreement, and weakening our alliances has made our country less safe. “I hope and expect that President-elect Biden will be able to heal much of that damage. The future peace and prosperity of the United States depends on reasserting leadership, engagement, and diplomacy. I look forward to seeing new progress soon under the Biden Administration, which should include rejoining the Treaty on Open Skies. In the meantime, I will continue working to build support for this and other diplomatic reengagement in Congress.” The Treaty on Open Skies, developed under President George H.W. Bush, signed in 1992, and entered into force a decade later, established “unarmed aerial observation flights over the entire territory of its participants,” with the goal of enhancing ”mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants” in order to prevent military confrontation. The Trump Administration officially exited the treaty over the weekend, and is reportedly taking measures to prevent President-elect Biden from being able to easily rejoin the treaty. Since its introduction last week, Beyer’s non-proliferation resolution, which also calls for a five-year extension of the New START Treaty, has been cosponsored by Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), James McGovern (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), André Carson (D-IN), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Bill Foster (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Ed Case (D-HI), and Mike Levin (D-CA). |