NEW DELHI, February 28. /TASS/. Attempts to place weapons in space are unsuccessful, thanks to the peace policy of the BRICS member-states, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev stated at the NXT global development forum held in the Indian capital.
When asked about BRICS's role in space security and its resistance to the arms race in space, Artemyev emphasized that the countries in this alliance "champion and endorse the peaceful use of outer space."
"Currently, many documents coming from BRICS stress that the work zone in space should be free of weapons," he noted, expressing confidence that "the peace policy pursued by the BRICS countries will have a significant impact."
"I hope that more countries will join BRICS and that attempts to place weapons in space will fail," Artemyev added.
The BRICS group was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia will become members of the group. The 16th BRICS summit, a key event during Russia's presidency of the association, took place in Kazan from October 22 to 24 last year. In addition to the leaders of the BRICS member countries, the summit was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and heads of several non-BRICS states, including Turkey and Palestine.
Artemyev has completed three spaceflights during his career - in 2014, 2018, and 2022 - accumulating over 560 days of total flight time. He has also conducted eight spacewalks.