MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. Moscow thinks it is important to pay attention to exactly who is opposing Russia’s draft resolution in the UN Security Council on preventing an arms race in outer space, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"We ask you to pay attention to the fact that we have failed to adopt the relevant resolution on outer space. If you look at who opposed it and what the Russian side is proposing in this draft, you will see the answer to your question," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked to assess the risks posed by the US military space program.
"We are for a comprehensive solution (enshrined in the resolution - TASS), for the complete ban and so on," Peskov pointed out, reiterating his call to review the list of those countries that have vetoed the resolution.
Speaking about the risks of the US program, the Kremlin spokesman assured that Russia's special services are "doing their job."
Resolution
The UN Security Council earlier failed to adopt the draft resolution on the prevention of an arms race in outer space proposed by Russia. Of the 15 members of the Security Council, seven countries - Algeria, China, Ecuador, Guyana, Mozambique, Russia, Sierra Leone and Ecuador - voted in favor of the document. Malta, Slovenia, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States voted against. Switzerland abstained. A resolution is considered adopted if nine members of the Security Council vote in favor of it and no permanent members veto it.
The draft resolution proposed by Russia consists of 10 paragraphs and calls on all countries, especially those with space exploration capabilities, "to take urgent measures to prevent the stationing of weapons in outer space." In addition, the document calls for "the development of appropriate, reliably verifiable and legally binding multilateral agreements through negotiations."
The draft resolution emphasizes "the need for further measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its dimensions." In addition, the document calls for "immediate negotiations on a legally binding international treaty or treaties to prevent an arms race in outer space, including the prevention of the weaponization of outer space." The draft resolution also reaffirms the obligation of all countries party to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty to comply fully with its provisions, including "not to place in Earth orbit any objects equipped with nuclear weapons."
Russia’s envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said the Western countries' vote would require retaliatory measures from the Russian Federation. He called the vote a defeat for those who, like Russia, are trying to avoid spreading the confrontation to low-Earth orbit. Nebenzya assured that Russia will continue to fulfill its obligations in space in accordance with international law.