A Russian-drafted UN Security Council resolution calling on all countries to prevent "forever" the placement, threat or use of any weapon in outer space failed on Monday at a meeting of the 15-member body, which was divided over the measure, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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The draft failed to get at least the nine required votes: seven members voted in favor, seven against, and one abstained. The US, Russia, China, the UK, or France can only veto the draft if it receives at least nine votes.
Russia is said to have proposed the draft after vetoing a U.S.-drafted resolution last month calling on countries to prevent an arms race in space. The Russian veto prompted the United States to wonder whether Moscow was hiding something, the newspaper writes.
"We're here today because Russia is trying to divert the world's attention from the development of a new satellite with a nuclear device," said US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood before the Security Council vote.
He also accused Russia of launching a satellite into low Earth orbit on Thursday, which the United States said "is likely to be a counter-space weapon, possibly capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit.
"Russia has deployed this new anti-space weapon in the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite," Wood said, adding that the May 16 launch followed Russian satellites "likely to be anti-space systems in low Earth orbit" in 2019 and 2022.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya responded: "I didn't even fully understand what he was talking about.
nebenzia said that the Russian draft resolution covers both weapons of mass destruction and all other weapons and is aimed at ending the arms race in space.
But, when pressed by Nebenzi, Wood expressed doubt about language in the draft that requires a "lengthy binding mechanism that cannot be verified," stating: "I've seen this movie before.
The Russian draft contained language that echoed Moscow and Beijing's 2008 proposal for a treaty banning "any weapon in space" and the threat "or use of force against space objects," but the diplomatic efforts found no international support.
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The 1967 Outer Space Treaty already prohibits signatories, including Russia and the United States, from placing "in orbit around the Earth any object carrying nuclear weapons or any other type of weapon of mass destruction.
Washington has accused Moscow of developing anti-satellite nuclear weapons to be deployed in space, a charge that Russia denies. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.