MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. The Starlink satellite network operated by SpaceX, a company controlled by Elon Musk, is being used by the Pentagon to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries and organize protests, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov said at the International Security Forum.
"I would like to mention the problem of the unlawful use of low-orbit satellite internet systems separately. It is no secret that these technologies, Starlink in particular, provide internet access that bypasses national regulators and are used to interfere in the domestic affairs of states, including organizing protests. Such cases, as is well known, were recorded in Iran in 2022 and in Venezuela in 2024," the senior diplomat minister said during the roundtable discussion "International Cooperation in the Field of Information Security."
Alimov noted that SpaceX is a Pentagon contractor and makes no secret of this fact.
"We are now seeing how this company is expanding in the global market under the pretext of providing convenient satellite communications, effectively gaining the ability to influence the populations of other countries. This is undoubtedly an alarming trend," the Russian deputy foreign minister emphasized.
"Russia, together with its partners, is working to ensure the transparent regulation of such systems' use and ensure operators comply with the countries' national laws where they operate," Alimov pointed out. "Last December, we held an informal meeting of the UN Security Council, during which we considered joint measures to respond to this threat. We are, of course, discussing the full range of these issues in even greater detail in regional and bilateral formats," he noted.
TASS is the International Security Forum's information partner.