MOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/. The US draft agreement on resource mining on the moon requires a thorough review from the standpoint of the international law, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
"We have noted this information, it requires thorough analysis, including from the existing international law standpoint," he said, adding that he was not ready to evaluate this project directly yet.
Earlier, Reuters reported, citing its sources that the US administration was preparing a project of a new international agreement on resource mining on the moon, planning to involve a number of partner states. Russia will not be among them during the early stage, according to the sources. The agreement is expected to be named the Artemis Accords, after the US’s Artemis moon program.
The agreement implies creation of "safety zones" around future moon bases in a bid "to prevent damage or interference from rival countries or companies operating in close proximity," according to Reuters. It will also spell out rules within the international law which will allow companies mining resources on the moon to claim property rights over these resources.
The draft agreement has not been presented to the US allies, but, according to Reuters, Washington plans to officially engage in negotiations with such countries as Canada, Japan, the EU states and the UAE.