Moscow, April 12 (Sputnik): Russia calls for talks to create a legally binding international instrument that would ban deployment of any types of weapons in space, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight.
The anniversary of the first Soviet cosmonaut’s flight, which marked the beginning of space era, is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day on April 12. On the same day, the world marks the International Day of Human Space Flight.
“We consistently believe that only a guaranteed prevention of an arms race in space will make it possible to use it for creative purposes, for the benefit of entire mankind. We call for negotiations on the development of an international legally binding instrument that would prohibit the deployment of any types of weapons there, as well as the use of force or the threat of force,” Lavrov said in a video message on the anniversary of the first manned space flight.
The minister offered to take as a basis a relevant Russian-Chinese draft treaty submitted to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 2014.
To stabilize the situation during a period when a multilateral document on non-militarization of space is being developed, Lavrov invited countries to join a Russian-promoted multilateral initiative on making a political commitment not to be the first to place weapons in outer space
The top Russian diplomat noted that some 30 countries have become full-fledged participants in the initiative.(UNI)