Russia is not going to withdraw from the outer space treaty, Ryabkov said

MOSCOW, February 24 Russia is not considering the possibility of withdrawing from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, while Moscow sees that the United States, attributing non-existent intentions to the Russian Federation in space, allegedly connected with the deployment of nuclear weapons, at the same time want to achieve superiority there for themselves, including in the field of weapons, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov told reporters.
“No, we are not considering it,” said Ryabkov, answering the question whether Russia is considering the possibility of withdrawing from the Outer Space Treaty.

«This is one of the key components that remain in force within the framework of the decades-long system of international agreements, legal agreements, and other types of instruments for regulating this area» , he added.

The deputy minister emphasized that it is the United States that “has been pursuing a policy of creating superiority for itself in outer space, including the weapons sector, for a long time.”
“This is their usual technique when non-existent intentions are attributed to others and under this pretext, under this sauce, they intensify their own efforts that run counter to the interests of international security and completely ignore our proposals, which the president also said — that we have been fighting for a long time preserving space free from weapons of any kind,” Ryabkov concluded.

Earlier, the ABC television channel, citing sources, reported that US legislators could have been told at a secret briefing about the Russian Federation’s alleged plans to “place nuclear weapons in space” for use against satellites. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov stated that the White House, by announcing a closed briefing on a “serious threat to national security,” is trying to encourage the US Congress to vote for a bill to allocate money to Ukraine.
Moscow has previously repeatedly pointed out that Russia, together with other countries, in particular the PRC, stands for preventing an arms race in space and preserving it for peaceful purposes. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted earlier that the United States and its allies are taking steps to implement the installation of weapons in space and the use of outer space for combat operations not only for defensive purposes, they do not stop trying to position space as a new arena of rivalry and conflicts between states, as the main opponents are Russia and China.