Closed skies not conducive to peace

Like the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the 34-signatory "Open Skies" treaty has been a crucial part of a Cold War-era strategic architecture serving global peace long past that superpower standoff.

By allowing designated airplanes of signatory countries to conduct short-notice, unarmed surveillance flights over specific areas in each other's territory, the treaty has been a significant instrument of mutual assurance, if not confidence building, between suspicious rivals, the United States and Russia in particular.

Since US President Dwight Eisenhower proposed the idea in 1955, particularly since the "Open Skies" treaty took effect in 2002, the mechanism has proven instrumental in avoiding misjudgments and mitigating an arms race.