Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan that called on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty show” that singles out weapons of mass destruction over all other weapons. which should also be banned.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, with Russia opposed and China abstaining.
The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in space, prohibited by a 1967 international treaty that included the United States and Russia, and to accept the need to verify compliance.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.
“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you follow the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? “What could you be hiding?” she asked. “It’s disconcerting. And it’s a shame.”
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized” and said it did not go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space.
Russia and China proposed an amendment to the US-Japan draft that would call on all countries, especially those with extensive space capabilities, to “forever prevent the placement of weapons in outer space and the threat of the use of force in outer space.” “outerterrestrials.” .”
The vote was 7 countries in favor, 7 against and one abstention and the amendment was rejected because it failed to obtain the minimum of 9 “yes” votes necessary for its adoption.
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The United States opposed the amendment, and after the vote, Nebenzia addressed the American ambassador, saying: “We want a ban on the placement of weapons of any kind in outer space, not just weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But you don’t want that. And let me ask you that same question. “Because?”
He said many of the actions of the United States and Japan will become clear “if we remember that the United States and its allies announced some time ago plans to place weapons … in outer space.”
Nebenzia accused the United States of blocking a Russian-Chinese proposal since 2008 for a treaty against the deployment of weapons in outer space.
Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of undermining global treaties to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, irresponsibly invoking “dangerous nuclear rhetoric,” walking away from several of its arms control obligations, and refusing to engage “in substantive discussions on gun control or risk reduction.” “
He called Wednesday’s vote “a truly missed opportunity to rebuild much-needed confidence in existing arms control obligations.”
Thomas-Greenfield’s announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed the White House’s confirmation in February that Russia had obtained a “concerning” anti-satellite weaponry capability, although such a weapon is not yet operational.
Putin later stated that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the United States.
Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote that the world is only beginning to understand “the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space.”
It could destroy “thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world and end vital communications, scientific, weather, agricultural, commercial and national security services that we all depend on,” he said.
The defeated draft resolution said that “the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger to international peace and security.” It would have urged all countries carrying out activities in the exploration and use of outer space to comply with international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
The draft would have stated that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must fulfill their obligations not to place in orbit around the Earth “any object” with weapons of mass destruction, nor install them “on celestial bodies, nor place such weapons in outer space.”
The treaty, ratified by some 114 countries including the United States and Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other type of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”
The draft resolution emphasizes “the need for additional measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with appropriate and effective provisions for verification, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”
He reiterated that the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has the primary responsibility for negotiating agreements to prevent an arms race in outer space.
The 65-nation body has achieved few results and has largely become a forum for countries to voice criticism of others’ weapons programs or defend their own. The draft resolution would have urged the conference to “adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive program of work.”
At the March council meeting where the US-Japan initiative was launched, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have increased the risk of nuclear war to its highest point in decades.”
He said the film “Oppenheimer” about Robert Oppenheimer, who led the American project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of the nuclear end of the world to vivid life for millions of people around the world.” .
“Humanity cannot survive an Oppenheimer sequel,” the UN chief said.
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