Moscow will scrutinize a reported U.S. intention to limit Russian observation flights and will take measures in response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said here on Thursday.
Russia will evaluate whether the possible restriction violates the Treaty on Open Skies, she told a news briefing.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials look to limit Russian observation flights over U.S territory as Russia has violated the Treaty on Open Skies by restricting U.S. and its allies' monitoring missions over its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad and other areas.
"Some of our partners spent most of the 5,500-km quota circling over Kaliningrad, disturbing air traffic in the tight airspace. Therefore, we were forced to set a 500-km cap for them over the region," Zakharova said, adding that other Russian restrictions were also well grounded.
The Treaty on Open Skies, signed in 1992 and went into force in 2002, is one of the major confidence-building and arms-control measures after the Cold War. It allows unarmed observation flights over its member states to gather information about each other's military forces and activities.
The treaty currently has 34 party states, including Russia and most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
