Watching Trump drive a stake through the heart of this treaty should be quite a pleasant prospect for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since then, the Open Skies Treaty has allowed reconnaissance flights over each of the 34 nations that have signed it -- largely NATO nations and others across eastern Europe. An American withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty would give Putin more leeway to make forays into areas like eastern Ukraine, where he'd love to keep his actions concealed from western scrutiny. By withdrawing from the Open Skies treaty, the United States would fulfill Putin's goals by effectively "driving another wedge into the NATO alliance," Reif says. It quietly asserted its support for the Open Skies Treaty by retweeting Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who wrote that the agreement "helps build confidence & increase transparency."

Source: CNN October 24, 2019 12:45 UTC