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CSTO foreign ministers state deployment of weapons in space unacceptable

CSTO Council of foreign ministers reaffirmed that "space must remain peaceful and be used for the benefit of all nations"

MINSK, June 20. /TASS/. CSTO foreign ministers adopted a statement on prevention of an arms race in space, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleynik said after the CSTO ministerial meeting Tuesday.

"In this statement, we underscored the unacceptability of deployment of weapons in space or threats of use of force in space," the Belarusian foreign minister said.

Aleynik noted that the ministers reaffirmed the need for examination and adoption of practical measures on development of agreements in order to prevent an arms race in space.

"The Conference on Disarmament plays the primary role in this issue," he said.

In addition, the CSTO Council of foreign ministers reaffirmed that "space must remain peaceful and be used for the benefit of all nations."

"We stated that the exclusion of space from the arms race area and its preservation for peaceful purposes must become an inviolable norm of state’s policy and a universally recognized international obligation," the Belarusian minister noted.

He also stated that the CSTO ministers called all states - primarily, ones that enjoy major space potential - to take "urgent measures, aimed at prevention of weapons in space, to reaffirm their commitment to the political obligation not to be the first to deploy weapons in space, and called on all nations to follow the CSTO member states’ example."

The foreign minister also added that the participants of the Minsk meeting stated their readiness to aid in efforts of the international community on preservation of space free from weapons of any kind.

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