NEW YORK, April 17. /TASS/. Washington is interested in developing cooperation with Moscow and Beijing in the field of security in outer space, US Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Frank A. Rose said at the annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs (Colorado) on Thursday.

"During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union found many areas of mutual interest in avoiding potentially destabilising actions," he said. "The 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space, started a fifty-plus-year string of bilateral arms control treaties and agreements with the Soviet Union, and later the Russian Federation. We also came to agreement in many other realms, including chemical and biological weapons," Rose said.

In this regard, Rose expressed his confidence that "it is reasonable to assume that most nations, if not all nations, would find it to be in their national interest to prevent conflict from extending into space, knowing that such conflict would degrade the sustainability of the space environment, hinder future space-based scientific activities, and potentially reduce the quality of life for everybody on Earth if the benefits of space-based applications were eroded. Convincing other nations, including China and Russia, of this objective is the role of diplomacy."

The US Assistant Secretary of State also said, "If diplomacy fails, and the use of force does extend to space, the United States must be prepared to protect our space capabilities and prevail in conflict. That is absolutely clear.