The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday told the United States to step back from a confrontation over military observation flights before the two countries became embroiled in another round of tit-for-tat retaliatory measures.
Washington has accused Russia of flouting the so-called Open Skies Treaty, an agreement designed to build confidence between the two countries' militaries, and said it plans to take measures against Moscow.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported on Tuesday the action would include restricting Russian military flights over American territory.This was in response to claims Moscow prevented US observation flights over its heavily militarised Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday that Moscow would respond to any new US restrictions.
Ms Zakharova said: “Nobody has cancelled the principle of reciprocity in international relations.”
Tensions have been high between the two nations since August when a Russian plane flew over Donald Trump's holiday destination.
A US Department of State Official said Washington would take "reasonable and comparable measures" to deal with Russia's alleged non-compliance with the treaty.
He said: ”We have long had concerns about Russia's implementation of the Open Skies Treaty. After repeated, unsuccessful attempts to engage Moscow diplomatically, we have elected to take some reasonable and comparable steps in response to Russia's non-compliance.
“We hope this will change Russia’s calculus and encourage Russia to engage with us about our concerns more constructively.
“We’re ready to reverse these measures at any time, should Russia come back into compliance with its Open Skies Treaty obligations.
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