Moscow: US Seeking to Undermine Treaties That Prevent Arms Race in Space

GENEVA (Sputnik) - Washington and its allies are attempting to scuttle the existing international agreements designed to prevent an arms race in space in order to impose their own rules, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday.

"Lately, there have been active attempts not only to erode the past achievements and accomplishments in the area but also to formulate some new rules that would regulate possible military standoff in space on terms put forth by the US and its allies," Ryabkov said while addressing the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva during the High Level Segment.

Conversely, Moscow is focused on developing a multilateral legally binding agreement on the prevention of an arms race in space, as it is " the only way to prevent militarization of space and conflicts in the orbit," the diplomat said.

"The need for such an agreement has significantly increased as the US and its allies' are implementing military space programs with the aim of conducting combat operations and achieving military superiority in space," the deputy foreign minister said.

The draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, submitted to the Conference by China and Russia, can form a reliable basis for the future document preventing an arms race in space, the Russian diplomat said.

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) serves as a multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament and meets in three-segment annual sessions. In 2023 the session of the CD High Level Segment is taking place from February 27 to March 3.