France, Germany and eight other European nations have said they "regret" the decision by US President Donald Trump to exit the Open Skies mutual military surveillance treaty with Russia.
"We regret the announcement by the United States of its plan to pull out of the Open Skies treaty, even though we share the concerns about how the accord is being carried out by the Russian Federation," the countries said in a joint statement issued by France's foreign ministry.
The joint statement from France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Czechia and Sweden said the treaty remained "functional and useful".
Yesterday the US leader announced he plans to withdraw the US from the treaty, claiming Russia has not stuck to its commitments under the 18-year-old pact.
"Russia did not adhere to the treaty," he told reporters at the White House, adding that "until they adhere, we will pull out."
It is the third time Mr Trump has withdrawn the US from an international arms control pact since he came to office.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said the decision by Mr Trump undermines international security.
He said the US had provided no facts to back up its assertion that Russia has repeatedly violated the pact's terms.
The Open Skies agreement between Russia, the United States and 32 other countries, mostly members of the NATO alliance, permits one country's military to conduct a certain number of surveillance flights over another each year on short notice.
The aircraft can survey the territory below, collecting information and pictures of military installations and activities.
The idea is that the more rival militaries know about each other, the less the chance of conflict between them.
However the sides also use the flights to examine vulnerabilities of their opponent.
The United States has been frustrated that Russia will not permit US flights over areas where they believe Russia is deploying medium-range nuclear weapons that threaten Europe.
