Russian aircraft to photograph U.S. under "open-skies" agreement
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050620/40548222.html
11:27
WASHINGTON, June 20 (RIA Novosti, Arkady Orlov) - Russia will conduct fly-over and aerial photography of the United States under the "open-skies" agreement, the U.S. State Department has announced.
The State Department said an unarmed Tu-154 plane authorized under the agreement would arrive at Travis Air Force base, California, on Monday.
The plane will fly over 4,250 kilometers (about 2,600 miles) of U.S. terrain on a route chosen by Russia.
The State Department said Russian plane would be equipped with several optical cameras and that the United States would obtain copies of the pictures taken during the mission. The department also said that the Russian crew would be entitled to take shots of any point of the U.S. on the route coordinated by both parties. During the mission, which is being conducted jointly by Russia and Belarus, a U.S. Defense Department support group will be onboard the Tu-154.
The forthcoming mission will be the third since the "open skies" agreement between Russia and the U.S. began on January 1, 2002 and the first this year. A similar mission is scheduled for July.
Under the agreement the U.S. planes have already made 19 flights over Russia and Belarus.
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