Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia “will continue to make an unwavering contribution to keeping outer space free of weapons of any kind and preventing it from becoming another sphere of tension and armed confrontation”. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russia on May 21 said the United States was seeking to place weapons in space, the latest accusation in an ongoing row that comes a day after Washington vetoed a Russian non-proliferation motion at the United Nations.

“They have once again demonstrated that their true priorities in the area of outer space are aimed not at keeping space free from weapons of any kind, but at placing weapons in space and turning it into an arena for military confrontation,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The two superpowers have traded multiple accusations of seeking to weaponise space in recent months.

In February, Washington said it was concerned by an “anti-satellite capability that Russia has developed” after U.S. media outlets reported that intelligence agencies had warned their allies that Russia could launch a nuclear weapon into orbit.

Moscow denied those accusations as “malicious” and “unfounded,” saying it does not possess such systems.

Russia has since levelled similar charges at the United States.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not provide further details on Tuesday when asked if Moscow had specific information regarding U.S. plans to deploy weapons in space, saying only that the country’s intelligence agencies were monitoring the situation.

“Our special services are performing their work,” he told reporters in a briefing.

The countries have proposed rival non-proliferation motions at the United Nations as part of the spat.

Russia vetoed the U.S. initiative last month, while Moscow’s proposal was blocked by the United States, Britain and France in a vote on Monday.

Moscow said the U.S. initiative focused only on nuclear weapons and that Washington was not seriously interested in a complete ban on weapons in space.

The veto by the United States and its allies “spoke eloquently” about their priorities, Mr. Peskov said Tuesday.

U.S. envoy Robert Wood said Russia’s proposal, which called on all countries to “take urgent measures to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space,” was a distraction and accused Moscow of “diplomatic gaslighting.”

Ms. Zakharova said Tuesday that Russia “will continue to make an unwavering contribution to keeping outer space free of weapons of any kind and preventing it from becoming another sphere of tension and armed confrontation.”

Space is a rare area where the two countries still have a degree of cooperation despite a swathe of Western sanctions and dire relations amid Russia’s offensive on Ukraine.

Both countries ferry each other’s crew members to and from the International Space Station (ISS), where their astronauts are jointly stationed.

Moscow:

Moscow and Beijing are closely aligned in their positions on the United States and resolving the Ukraine conflict, the Russian foreign ministry said following talks between their top diplomats on Monday. The statement came after China’s Wang Yi kicked off a four-day visit to Moscow with a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the latest in a series of high-level contacts between the two strategic allies.

“The similarity of the parties’ positions regarding US actions in the international arena, including those of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature, was stated,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.

“The parties discussed in detail the current state of affairs in Ukraine, noting the futility of attempts to resolve the crisis without taking into account Russia’s interests and, all the more so, without Russia’s participation,” it added.

Wang also told Lavrov about the content of talks he held over the weekend with US President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan, the statement said.

Russia and China frequently tout their “no limits” partnership and economic and military cooperation. 

China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, while offering Moscow a vital diplomatic and financial lifeline as its international isolation deepens.

According to a Chinese state media readout, Wang reiterated Beijing’s position paper on the Ukraine conflict, which called for peace talks but was met with scepticism by the United States and NATO when it was released earlier this year. 

Wang told Lavrov the plan “takes into account the security concerns of all parties and is conducive to eliminating the root causes of the conflict”, according to China’s Xinhua.

“A permanent good-neighbourly friendship, comprehensive strategic cooperation, and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Russia will continue to contribute to the development and revitalisation of each country,” he added.

During his visit, Wang is due to hold security consultations at the invitation of Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s security council.

President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Moscow in March and declared that relations between the two countries were entering a new era.

An aide to Vladimir Putin said in July that the Russian president was planning to visit China in October.

At the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok last week, Putin told Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing that ties between Russia and China “have reached an absolutely unprecedented, historical level”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

The Russian government has expelled two US diplomats for allegedly maintaining contact with a Russian national who worked for the US Mission and is accused by Moscow of being an “informant,” CNN reported. The two diplomats – Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein have been declared as “persona non grata,” which implies that they have to leave the country within one week. 

The United States has condemned Russia’s decision stating that Moscow has chosen “confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement.”

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Moscow, US Ambassador Lynne Tracy was summoned to the Ministry on Thursday. Lynne Tracy was informed that the two diplomats – Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein have been declared as “persona non grata,” which means they have to leave the country within a week. 

US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller condemned Russia’s decision to expel two diplomats. Miller said that Russia has yet again chosen “confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement.” He further said that the US would “respond appropriately” to Russia’s actions.

While addressing a press briefing on Thursday, Matt Miller said, “This unprovoked expulsion of our diplomatic personnel is wholly without merit, as is the case against a former Russian contractor of our embassy who was arrested for the supposedly nefarious task of performing such activities as providing our embassy with media clips.”

He further said, “Yet again, Russia has chosen confrontation and escalation over constructive diplomatic engagement. It continues to harass employees of our embassy, just as it continues to intimidate its own citizens. We regret that Russia has taken this path, and you can certainly expect that we will respond appropriately to their actions.” 

Miller said the expelled US diplomats have not yet left Russia, according to CNN. The expulsion of the two US diplomats comes at a time when the ties between Washington and Moscow have been strained.  

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Tracy was given “a harsh demarche with the presentation of an official note regarding the incompatibility with the diplomatic status of the actions of the First Secretary of the US Embassy Jeffrey Sillin and the Second Secretary of the Embassy David Bernstein.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that these individuals carried out “illegal activities” and maintained contact with Russian citizen Robert Shonov, according to CNN report. It termed the “illegal activities” of the US diplomatic mission, including interference in the internal affairs of the host country as “unacceptable.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said, “These persons carried out illegal activities, maintaining contact with Russian citizen (Robert) Shonov, accused of ‘confidential cooperation’ with a foreign state, who was given tasks for financial compensation aimed at harming the national security of the Russian Federation.”

It further said, “It was also emphasized that illegal activities of the US diplomatic mission, including interference in the internal affairs of the host country, are unacceptable and will be resolutely suppressed. The Russian side expects Washington to draw the right conclusions and refrain from confrontational steps.”

Russian citizen Shonov, who had served in the US Consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years, was arrested and charged with “confidential cooperation” with a foreign government, CNN reported citing Russian state media outlet TASS report in May.

US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller termed the charges as being “wholly without merit.” He said Shonov was working for “a company contracted to provide services to the US Embassy in Moscow in strict compliance with Russia’s laws and regulations” after the Russian government banned the US from employing Russian staff in 2021, CNN reported. 

In May, Miller said that Shonov’s role at the time of his arrest “was to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russian media sources.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)