Russia warns the USA against space arms race
Moscow expressed concern that the US House of Representatives approved a defense budget for 2019 that includes allocating funds to build a space-based echelon for intercepting ballistic missiles. Such steps show that Washington intends to use force in outer space, stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Preparations for the creation of space-based, anti-ballistic missile defense weapons are another step towards the US achieving the ‘domination in space.’ These efforts are a direct confirmation that Washington has no intention to refuse the idea to use force in space, which was advocated by the previous administration,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
The Ministry noted that there is a direct link between strategic offensive and defensive weapons, and that Washington’s attempts to “ensure its superiority” resulted in an arms race and international tension.
“Armed confrontation in space can have no less of a destructive effect than a nuclear arms race by Washington in the middle of past century, the consequences of which the whole world still cannot cope with,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. “Russia strongly opposes such reckless attempts.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that Russia advocates the exploration of space “for exclusively peaceful purposes” that was confirmed in the Declaration of the 10th BRICS Summit and the Russian-Chinese treaty to ban the deployment of weapons in outer space. “We are supported by sensible people from all over the world,” the statement of the Ministry reads.
In June, US President Donald Trump tasked the Pentagon with creating military-space forces, to keep up with the progress of Russia and China in this area. The Head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, then stated that Russia would not let Washington “cross the red line” in the space weaponization.
In the same month, the US Senate approved the defense budget for 2019. $716 billion are earmarked for strengthening the armed forces. On July 25, the defense budget was approved by the Committee of the US House of Representatives.