The US and Russia are set to face off over nuclear weapons in space on Wednesday at the UN Security Council, which is due to vote on a US-drafted resolution calling on countries to prevent an arms race in outer space, Reuters has reported.
The meeting on the treaty will come after the US accused Moscow of developing an anti-satellite nuclear weapon to put in space, a claim that Russia has dismissed.
The news reports on the new space weapon emerged nearly two months ago, with White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby saying that US intelligence agencies were tracking Russia’s pursuit of such systems for a while and that Washington was reaching out to allies on a plan to overcome potential dangers.
Then, Republican Representative Mike Turner, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, issued a statement warning of “a serious national security threat,” as per Voice of America.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Japan’s UN Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki released a joint statement last week, revealing ongoing negotiations with Security Council members over a draft text spanning six weeks.
The text emphasizes states’ obligation to adhere to the Outer Space Treaty and urges countries to actively support the peaceful utilization of outer space while preventing an arms race in that domain.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits signatory countries, including Russia and the US, from deploying “any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction” into Earth’s orbit.
Despite the work being done behind the document, some diplomats told Reuters that Russia will most likely block the resolution.
Three sources familiar with US intelligence findings suggest that Russian capabilities may include a space-based nuclear bomb. If detonated, its electromagnetic radiation could potentially disable extensive satellite networks.
In 2024, Russian leader Vladimir Putin declared Russia’s opposition to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space. Nonetheless, some experts suggest that space assets could potentially be used as a weapon in Russia’s war against Ukraine, as the country relies on space-based communications and satellite-linked drones.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the West, including the US, is “balancing on the dangerous edge” of a direct nuclear war with Russia after the country approved a new $60 billion aid package held in Congress for months.
In the first statement made by a Russian official regarding the direct confrontation between states that possess nuclear weapons, Lavrov said America’s position in the Ukraine war could ultimately push the countries into a conflict with “catastrophic consequences,” according to Newsweek.
He added that, in his opinion, the world faced a “difficult situation of crisis in the system of arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation, which reflects unprecedented degradation in the sphere of international security.”
Lavrov also accused the West of dreaming “of inflicting a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia and are ready to carry on with their policy of deterring our country to the last Ukrainian.”
After Lavrov’s threats and propaganda statements, the UK announced the most extensive yet military aid package for Ukraine, worth £500 million.
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