MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Moscow regards as irresponsible Washington’s preparations for putting weapons in space, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Friday.

"The United States’ steps taken lately to prepare for the deployment of weapons in space, including creation of a space-based missile defense group, confirm the growing need for international efforts to resist such irresponsible plans," Zakharova said. "We hope for the prompt beginning of negotiations on this issue at the disarmament conference in the context of maintaining international security and strategic stability."

Russia sees its priority, Zakharova said, in "drafting a multilateral and legally binding instrument for the prevention of an arms race in space and of the use of force or threats of using force in relation to space objects."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in a full-scale session of the disarmament conference in Geneva on March 20.