Military officials release 500 balloons to mark milestone in Open Skies treaty

VIENNA, 14 July 2008 - Military officials from the countries that are part of the Open Skies Treaty released 500 balloons today on Heldenplatz outside the Hofburg in Vienna to commemorate the approaching 500th flight under the treaty, which was negotiated under OSCE auspices.

The 500th flight under the treaty, which allows its State Parties to carry out unarmed observation flights over each other's territories, is expected to take place toward the end of this month. The 34 State Parties include most European states, the Russian Federation and the United States. The treaty depositaries are Canada and Hungary. All are OSCE participating States.

"Through the effective, successful conduct of these hundreds of flights, we have collectively built more confidence together than the treaty's authors could have envisioned," said U.S. Chief Arms Control Delegate Hugh Neighbour, who chairs the Vienna-based Open Skies Consultative Commission that implements the treaty. "There is no doubt that the treaty has made a significant contribution toward security and stability in the European area and beyond."

Marton Krasznai, a former Hungarian Ambassador to the OSCE, said the treaty still served as "a useful and efficient confidence-building tool" despite the availability of satellite technology.

"No satellite imagery can compete with an Open Skies flight when it comes to the element of openness and co-operation," he said. He also argued that Open Skies flights could be used to address threats posed, for example, by natural disasters.

The Treaty entered into force in January 2002. It is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants the possibility to obtain information on military or other activities of concern to them. Open Skies is the most wide-ranging international effort to date to promote openness and transparency of military forces and their activities.

For more information about the Open Skies Treaty, the OSCC, and the observation flights, please see: //www.osce.org/about/13516.html