White House calls on Russia to support UN resolution on non-deployment of nuclear weapons in space

Next week, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on a resolution banning nuclear weapons in space. The White House estimates that Russia will vote in favor of the document. This was stated on Thursday by White House spokesman John Kirby, reports UNN with reference to Bloomberg.

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"We have heard President Putin say that Russia has no intention of placing nuclear weapons in space," White House spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday. 

"So we hope that Russia will vote in favor of this resolution. There should be no reason for them not to, and if they do, I think it should open up some really legitimate questions for Putin about what his intentions really are," Kibrey emphasized. 

The US-Japanese resolution emphasizes that countries "should not develop nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction designed to be placed in orbit." 

If adopted, the proposal would confirm the expectation that countries should "fully comply" with their obligations under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons in orbit.

Kirby said the resolution would be put to a vote next week. Russia has a veto as a permanent member of the Security Council. 

The U.S. unveiled plans to pass the resolution weeks after Washington said Moscow was planning to develop anti-satellite space weapons. People familiar with the matter say the U.S. has told allies that russia could launch a nuclear weapon or mock warhead into space as early as this year. putin has denied the claims.

In his turn , the Russian dictator accused the United States of "throwing in" information about the alleged deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in space, saying that Washington wants to draw Moscow into negotiations on its own terms.