Russian lawmakers vote to leave Open Skies pact

Russia's lower house of parliament yesterday voted to leave the Open Skies security agreement, another step in dissolving the Cold War-era pact that the US left last year. The vote in the State Duma came hours before Russia's foreign minister and his US counterpart were due to meet in Iceland. The United States said last week it was reviewing the previous administration's withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty, as Russia moved formally to leave the post-Cold War pact aimed at building trust. The treaty was signed in 1992 soon after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and came into force in 2002.  It allowed its nearly three dozen signatories to carry out short-notice flights over one another's territories to monitor potential military operations. Members include countries across Europe, the former Soviet Union and Canada.