MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/. Russia is ready to engage with any country to keep outer space free of weapons, but believes that some nations are unprepared for serious talks on the issue, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"The Russian Federation is ready to conduct an equitable dialogue with all countries in order to keep outer space free of weapons of any kind as one of the conditions for ensuring international peace and security. Unfortunately, not all countries are determined to hold a serious conversation on this issue," she said.

The diplomat commented on recent statements by US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb, who described the proposed Russian-Chinese treaty on preventing the placement of weapons in outer space, the use of force or threat of force against space objects as nothing more than a political ploy and alleged that its implementation would be unverifiable. According to Zakharova, the US is a "fierce opponent of Russian initiatives to prevent an arms race in outer space."

"Stiff opposition to the aforementioned Russian-Chinese draft treaty has long been an integral part of the American foreign policy course. In this context, Mr. Palm's statements are not surprising," she said.

The diplomat noted that comments of US officials on efforts to prevent an arms race in outer space, "as well as their current activity on space affairs in the UN Security Council, are elements of Washington's policy of undermining multilateral efforts to maintain international peace and strengthen global security by improving existing and developing new legally binding instruments in the field of arms control."

"Instead, the US is offering some set of norms of 'responsible' behavior as part of its concept of a 'rule-based world order,' which is untenable neither technically nor in terms of international law," she said.