US tells Russia it will not rejoin Open Skies arms control pact

A Russian Air Force Tu-214 flies over Offutt Air Force Base (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

The Biden administration has informed Russia that it will not rejoin a key arms control pact, even as the two sides prepare for a summit next month between their leaders.

US officials said Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told the Russians that the administration had decided not to re-enter the Open Skies Treaty, which had allowed surveillance flights over military facilities in both countries but that former president Donald Trump had withdrawn from.