WASHINGTON, April 6. / TASS/. The US and its allies are blocking the development of a pact that would prevent armed confrontation in outer space, the Russian Embassy in that country said.
"As a reminder, it is Washington, supported by its allies, that for years has been blocking the development of a comprehensive legally binding international document. While Russia and China for many years have been leading global efforts to prepare comprehensive measures aimed at preventing outer space from becoming an arena of armed confrontation and stipulating a ban on the deployment of weapons of any kind in outer space," the embassy said in a statement posted to Telegram.
The statement was issued in response to recent comments by US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb, who described the proposed Russian-Chinese treaty on preventing the placement of weapons in outer space, the use of force or threat of force against space objects as nothing more than a political ploy and alleged that its implementation would be unverifiable. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier on Saturday that the US is a "fierce opponent of Russian initiatives to prevent an arms race in outer space.".