UNITED NATIONS, April 24. /TASS/. The UN Security Council rejected an amendment from Russian and China to a resolution that is sponsored by the US and Japan and seeks to ban nuclear weapons in outer space, according to a TASS reporter.

The amendment gained seven votes from countries including Russia and China. Seven other countries voted against, including the US, France and the UK. Switzerland was the only country to abstain.

The amendment would have the Security Council call on all nations to "take urgent measures to forever prevent the deployment of weapons in outer space" and seek negotiations to reach multilateral agreements on the subject as soon as possible.

"This is what the overwhelming majority of countries are now expecting from the Security Council. We call on all responsible participants in outer space activities to support our proposal," Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said ahead of the vote on the amendment.