Russia, China Reaffirm Commitment to Preventing Space Arms Race

Russia and China have emphasized the importance of joint efforts to prevent an arms race in space, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On November 18, Moscow hosted a regular round of Russian-Chinese inter-agency consultations on space security topics, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

"The sides exchanged their views on the current situation in this domain and reaffirmed the importance of active joint effort to prevent an arms race in space," the ministry said.

The Russian delegation was led by Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Konstantin Vorontsov; the Chinese one - by Deputy Director General of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of Arms Control Li Chijiang.

The sides also called for the soonest launch of an international legally binding agreement aimed at preventing the arms race in space, based on the Russian-Chinese draft Treaty on Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space and of the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects.

"The meeting confirmed the unity of Russian-Chinese approaches to space security. The need to continue close cooperation on the subject was noted," the ministry said.