Russia has no intention of putting nuclear weapons into space, a top Russian military commander was quoted by Interfax as saying on Wednesday.
“Russia doesn’t plan to do that – I can say that categorically,” General Vladimir Popovkin, head of Russia’s military space command, said in response to a question about the possibility of Russia putting nuclear weapons into orbit.
“I hope that humanity has enough sense not to put such awful weapons into space,” Popovkin told reporters.
“Controlling weapons on earth is one thing, but in space it’s more difficult — there are meteor showers, sunbursts – it’s very dangerous.”
The agency provided no further details on the context of Popovkin’s comments.
His remarks however came a week after the US daily The New York Times reported that the US Air Force was seeking a national security directive from President George W. Bush that could lead to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons.
A new US presidential directive to replace a 1996 policy that emphasized a more pacific use of space was expected within weeks, the report said, quoting an unidentified senior US administration official.
A US Air Force spokeswoman, Karen Finn, was quoted in the report as saying that “the focus of the process is not putting weapons in space… The focus is having free access in space.”
