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‘One-sided, incendiary’: Russian diplomat slams NATO’s space policy paper

Maria Zakharova noted that by releasing the document, NATO sought to legitimize the use of force in outer space, which ran counter to the international community’s efforts to prevent an arms race in space

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took NATO to task over its space policy paper at a briefing on Thursday, branding it as slanted and incendiary.

According to her, the document entitled NATO’s Overarching Space Policy, which was published on January 17, covers the Western-led bloc’s priorities in space.

"The document is one-sided and in fact incendiary as it is based on destructive beliefs of the US-led NATO members who have an important role in space," Zakharova emphasized.

She added that by releasing the document, NATO sought to legitimize the use of force in outer space, which ran counter to the international community’s efforts to prevent an arms race in space. "That said, the alliance is turning outer space into a battlefield," the Russian diplomat noted.

According to Zakharova, these factors once again prove that it was relevant and right for Moscow to present proposals on security guarantees and also confirm the importance of the legal initiatives to prevent an arms race in space that Russia and its like-minded countries are promoting.

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