Like China, Russia is a strong supporter of an international legal agreement
banning weapons in space and believes that the creation of an
ad hoc committee
of the Conference on Disarmament would provide the best forum in which to
accomplish this. Russia has taken actions both by itself and in
cooperation with other countries to further its space arms control goals.
Below are links to excerpts of some of Russia's official statements on space
arms control since 2002.
-
Statement by Ambassador
Leonid Skotnikov to the Conference on Disarmament, June 30, 2005
-
Statement by Ambassador
Leonid Skotnikov to the Conference on Disarmament, June 9, 2005
-
Statement by Ambassador
Leonid Skotnikov to the Conference on Disarmament, February 1, 2005
-
Statement by Ambassador
Leonid Skotnikov to the Conference on Disarmament, August 26, 2004
- Statement by Ambassador Sergei Lavrov to the UN First Committee, October 9, 2003
- Statement by President Vladimir Putin to the UN General Assembly, September 25, 2003
- Notification by Ambassador Leonid Skotinov to the Conference on Disarmament, June 26, 2003
- Statement by Ambassador Anton Vasiliev to the Conference on Disarmament, June 5, 2003
- Russian-French Declaration on Strategic Issues, signed by French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, February 10, 2003
- Joint Statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, February 6, 2003
- Statement by Minister Igor Ivanov to the Russian media, October 2, 2002
-
Statement by Ambassador Leonid A. Skotnikov to the Conference on Disarmament, June 28, 2002
Statement by Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov
to the Conference on Disarmament, June 30, 2005
(Full text of statement)
"The prevention of
an arms race in outer space is a priority matter for the
Russian Federation at the Conference on Disarmament. It is a
major and urgent issue. The weaponization of outer space is
a real and major threat. Its consequences would be extremely
negative. Hopes to achieve domination in space with the use
of force are illusory, and ultimately such ambitions would
weaken rather than strengthen the security of all States
without exception. At the same time, a practical possibility
now exists for ensuring the safety of space objects, on
which we increasingly depend in our daily lives, through
preventive non-military methods that would avert the
deployment of weapons in outer space. One such simple and
efficient method involves filling gaps in existing
international space law and securing a new comprehensive
international legal agreement that would reliably block
attempts to place weapons of any type in outer space or to
use or threaten to use force against space objects. We are
convinced that a new agreement on the non-weaponization of
outer space would be in the interests of all - primarily, of
course, those States which have their own space programmes,
of which there are approximately 130 at present.
[....]
In our view there is
no technological inevitability in the weaponization of
space. Together it is quite within our power to block the
placement of weapons in outer space and to direct progress
in science and technology along a constructive track.
[....]
Efforts to ensure
security in outer space and progress towards consensus on
awareness of the dangers of space weaponization could be
aided by devising measures of transparency and
confidence-building in space activities. Such measures,
which are important in themselves, could complement existing
norms of international space law and could be used to verify
compliance with existing and new treaties."
[Top]
Statement by Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov
to the Conference on Disarmament, June 9, 2005
(Full text of statement)
"Russia has
consistently advocated the commencement of negotiations in
the CD and the drafting of a legally binding international
instrument on the prevention of the placement of weapons in
outer space. Nevertheless, in order to facilitate a search
for consensus on the work programme of the Conference, we
expressed our readiness to support a discussion mandate for
the Ad Hoc Committee on PAROS in the form put forward in the
five ambassadors’ proposal. We expect flexibility to be
displayed in return, so that the Conference can at last move
forward to the adoption of a balanced programme of work and
the resumption of its substantive activities.
[....]
The exchange of
views involving a high level of commitment revealed growing
recognition by the international community of the genuine
danger that the arms race will spread into outer space, as
well as support for the idea of keeping outer space free
from weapons of any kind and the need to launch negotiations
aimed at the conclusion of a legally binding international
instrument on this issue.
[....]
...it is our
intention to hold a new open-ended meeting to discuss the
three thematic non-papers prepared by the Russian and
Chinese delegations. We hope that a thorough discussion of
the issues raised in them will bring us closer to our
objective - the drafting of an international legal
instrument on the prevention of the placement of weapons in
outer space. We would also appreciate any comments relating
to these papers delivered in any manner, including bilateral
contacts."
[Top]
Statement by Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov
to the Conference on Disarmament, February 1, 2005
(Full text of statement)
"...the Russian
Federation attaches priority to the issue of preventing an
arms race in outer space. Our common central task in this
context is to prevent the deployment of weapons in outer
space. We believe that addressing this task is in the
interests of all countries without exception. Should we
fail, the world will face a qualitatively new unstable
military and strategic situation, the emergence of an
additional motivation for an arms race in space and on the
ground, reduced scope for restraining the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, and
the emergence of a threat to the security of spacecraft,
whose uninterrupted functioning has become increasingly
indispensable for mankind. If we manage to prevent the
deployment of weapons in outer space, we shall be able to
direct scientific and technological progress in space onto a
constructive course for the benefit of all.
Russia has considerable space potential and experience in
outer space exploration. The non-weaponization of outer
space is not an abstract issue for us. We have a very clear
picture of all of the inevitable negative consequences of
deploying weapons there. These consequences would be even
more serious than the possible destabilizing effect of the
introduction of strategic missile defence systems. We do not
want to be drawn into a new arms race - we would like to
prevent such a scenario.
The Conference on Disarmament can contribute to solving this
major issue in international security. Russia is interested
in a resumption of substantive work in the CD as soon as
possible, so that substantive discussion in an ad hoc
committee on PAROS could begin on this problem and
approaches to solving it, one of which could be the drafting
of a treaty on the prevention of the deployment of weapons
in outer space and the threat or use of force against outer
space objects, as proposed by Russia and China.
[....]
Now I would like to
turn to the political meaning of our declaration. It
confirms that Russia itself does not intend to constitute a
threat to anyone in or from outer space. This follows on
logically from previous Russian declarations and initiatives
we have already mentioned. It is not our choice to build
space weapons. Therefore, Russia and its intentions cannot
be used as justification by others for placing weapons in
outer space."
[Top]
Statement by Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov
to the Conference on Disarmament, August 26, 2004
(Full text of statement)
"The issue of
preventing the deployment of weapons in outer space and thus preventing an
arms race in outer space is a clear priority for Russia among the items on the
agenda of the
Conference on Disarmament. The significance of outer space in the life of
mankind, and
especially in its further progress, is growing rapidly. We are ever more
dependent on space
technologies. Even now it is difficult to imagine the dramatic consequences for
everyday life if
the normal operation of spacecraft were to be disrupted, not to mention combat
occurring in
outer space. Today, to one extent or another, more than 130 States are involved
in outer space
activities, States which either have their own space programmes or are devising
programmes for
the use of information from space assets, including work for defence purposes.
[....]
In general, the term
“space weapons” means systems or devices based on any physical
principles which are launched into earth orbit or placed in outer space by any
other means, and
which are designed or converted to destroy, damage or disrupt the normal
functioning of objects
in outer space, as well as targets on the earth’s surface or in its atmosphere.
Space weapons are
designed to have a direct impact on an adversary’s assets, and by their nature
they can be either
weapons of mass destruction or conventional weapons, including those based on
new physical
principles. The deployment of weapons in outer space would undermine the
existing system of
arms control agreements, first and foremost those relating to nuclear weapons
and missiles, and
would provoke a new spiral in the arms race. Transforming outer space into a
potential theatre
for military combat would harbour serious threats for the disruption of
strategic stability and
international security. The deployment of weapons in outer space would have a
major effect on
the military-strategic balance, create the illusion that a first strike could be
made with impunity
and multiply the importance of the surprise factor many times over. Such weapons
would
therefore be intrinsically destabilizing regardless of whether they were
classified as offensive or
defensive weapons.
[....]
The development of
space weapons is certainly not a choice we would make. We would like to
underline that the Russian Federation has no current or short-term plans to
create any space weapon systems or deploy them in outer space. Moreover, Russia
is unswervingly abiding by its moratorium on the testing of anti-satellite
systems."
[Top]
Statement by Ambassador Sergei Lavrov to the UN First Committee, October 9, 2003
(Full text of statement)
"We remain convinced that there can be no delays in resolving the issue of
preventing of placement of weapons in outer space. In his statement at the
current UNGA session President of the Russian Federation emphasized that 'We
favor working out of a comprehensive agreement on this issue and invite
countries possessing outer space potential to join our initiative.'
Russia and China, together with a group of co-sponsoring states, introduced at
the CD a working paper entitled 'Possible
Elements of a Future International Legal Agreement on the Prevention of the
Deployment of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer
Space Objects,' which is gaining increasing attention in the world. A
preferred venue for further work on such an agreement would be an appropriate Ad
Hoc Committee of the CD. Russia has taken necessary steps in order to begin such
work and, in general, to get the Conference out of its current deadlock.
Russia's proposal to establish a moratorium on the deployment in outer space of
means of combat, pending relevant agreement, also remains valid. Efforts to
ensure predictability of the situation in outer space could be facilitated if
the outer space powers provide the international community with information
concerning forthcoming launches of outer space objects and their purpose, what
Russia has been doing since 2003."
[Top]
|
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
|
Statement by President Vladimir Putin to the UN General
Assembly, September 25, 2003
(Full text of statement)
"Today, Russia announces its obligation not to be the first to deploy offensive
strike weapons in outer space. We stand for developing a comprehensive agreement
on this issue and invite all countries possessing space potential to join our
initiative."
[Top]
Notification by Ambassador Leonid Skotinov to the
Conference on Disarmament, June 26, 2003
(Full text of notification)
"I have the honour to notify you of the development of an initiative by Russia
to promote openness and to build confidence in the domain of outer space
activities, so as to ensure transparency in the use of outer space and to
prevent the deployment in space of weapons of any type. The basic thrust of this
proposal, which was put forward in October 2002 by Mr.
Igor Ivanov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, is to show
Russia's willingness to provide advance notification of forthcoming spacecraft launches
and of their purpose and main parameters.
After the necessary preparations, work has now started on the implementation
of this initiative. The relevant details of forthcoming spacecraft launches,
provided by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and the Russian
Aerospace Agency, will be posted ahead of such launches on the official internet
site of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the address
www.mid.ru. In the disarmament
section of this site there is a special subsection containing information on forthcoming spacecraft launches in the Russian
Federation. The address of the English version of this subsection is
www.ln.mid.ru/ns-dvbr.nsf/engdvzaprkt.
The Russian Federation calls on the other space Powers which have their own
spacecraft launching facilities to join its initiative. By doing so they will
help build confidence in the domain of outer space activities and set the stage
for further joint efforts to reinforce the peaceful status of outer space."
Letter dated June 11, 2003, from the Permanent Representative of the Russian
Federation to the Conference on Disarmament Addressed to the Secretary-General
of the Conference, CD document CD/1710.
[Top]
Statement by Ambassador Anton Vasiliev to the Conference on Disarmament, June 5, 2003
(Full text of statement)
"Russia has always been in favour of keeping space peaceful and regards prevention of the deployment of weapons in outer space as a matter of priority. We appeal for work to be commenced as soon as possible on this issue in the Conference on Disarmament, as part of a balanced programme of work.
Following the initiative of President Putin of the Russian Federation, an international conference was held in Moscow, in the spring of 2001, under the auspices of the United Nations, on preventing the militarization of outer space, timed to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the first manned space flight. Its purpose was to accomplish the twin tasks of examining the issue of the prevention of the deployment of weapons in outer space and of exploring the prospects for the peaceful use of space. It worked under the slogan 'Space without weapons - an arena for peaceful cooperation in the twenty-first century,' and brought together about 1,300 participants from 105 countries.
In Russia’s statement at the fifty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, on 24 September 2001, it proposed that preparations begin on a comprehensive agreement on the non-deployment of weapons in outer space and the non-use of force or the threat of force in relation to space objects, and also outlined certain specific obligations which could serve as a basis for such an agreement. A new proposal was also put forward for a moratorium on the deployment of weapons in outer space until such time as an agreement is reached on that subject.
The Russian initiative put forward at the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly in 2001 was reflected in the joint Russian-Chinese draft on possible elements for a future international legal agreement on the prevention of deployment of weapons in outer space, which was distributed in Geneva in June 2002, during the session of the Conference on Disarmament, as document CD/1679.
In the joint declaration by the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China adopted on 27 May 2003, the two countries pledged to continue the necessary work on these issues in cooperation with other States.
Russia firmly believes that an agreement of this kind would be conducive to the effective implementation of peaceful activities in outer space and the development of multilateral cooperation in accordance with international law and would help strengthen the legal norms to protect spacecraft already in space or those yet to be launched, on the basis of the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter on refraining from the threat or use of force in international relations.
In October 2002, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Igor Ivanov, put forward a new initiative designed to promote openness and strengthen confidence in the field of space activities, with a view to ensuring predictability in the use of outer space and preventing the deployment of weapons of any kind in outer space. The substance of this proposal is to affirm Russia’s readiness to provide advance notification of forthcoming launches of spacecraft, and of their purpose and basic parameters.
As of today, now that the necessary preparations have been completed, work has started on the practical implementation of this idea. The relevant notifications by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency of forthcoming spacecraft launches are placed ahead of the launches on the official Internet web site of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The disarmament section of this site contains a special subsection on notifications of forthcoming spacecraft launches in the Russian Federation.
We appeal to the space Powers which have their own spacecraft launching facilities to join our initiative. By doing so they will help build confidence in the domain of space activities and set the stage for further joint efforts to strengthen the peaceful status of outer space. We shall shortly be preparing a letter containing the specific address and parameters of this site, which we intend to distribute through the secretariat of the Conference on Disarmament for the information of delegations."
[Top]
Russian-French Declaration on Strategic Issues, signed by French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, February 10, 2003
(Full text of declaration)
"The peaceful utilization of outer space should be secured for the benefit and in the interests of all. Russia and France reaffirm that averting an arms race in space is a strategically important issue. Russia and France call for immediate commencement of work on this problem at the Conference on Disarmament under a balanced program of work. They reaffirm the usefulness of confidence-building measures in this field."
[Top]
Joint Statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, February 6, 2003
"[Russia and Pakistan] confirmed their commitment to promoting disarmament and non-proliferation and the further strengthening of national export control systems."
"The two sides agreed that keeping space free from weapons and prevention of arms race in space were essential for strengthening strategic stability."
"Joint Statement," Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Daily News Bulletin, July 2, 2003,
http://www.ln.mid.ru/bl.nsf/0/7599964b77d3f83e43256cc6004f68ad?OpenDocument.
[Top]
|
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov.
|
Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov to
the Russian media, October 2, 2002
(Full text of statement)
"Question: In your statement to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh
session, you returned yet again to the issue of preventing the deployment of
weapons in outer space and mentioned a proposal to develop a comprehensive
agreement designed to preserve outer space as a zone free from any kind of
weapon. Could you give us some more details about Russia’s approach to this
issue? Are there any new elements in the Russian position on this?
Response:
Russia, as everyone knows, has always campaigned for outer
space to be kept peaceful and for talks to be commenced, as
soon as possible, on preventing the deployment of weapons in
outer space. Over the last few years we have come up with a
number of focused initiatives designed to prevent outer
space being turned into an arena of armed confrontation."
"In our statement to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session, on 24
September 2001, we suggested that work begin on the preparation of a
comprehensive agreement on the non-deployment of weapons in outer space and on
the non-use or threat of force against space objects and we also sketched out
specific obligations that could underpin such an agreement. We also put forward the idea of placing a moratorium on
deploying weapons in outer space, pending a relevant international agreement.
I would also like to recall that the Russian initiatives announced in 2001, at
the fifty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly, were embodied in
the Russian-Chinese working paper on possible elements for a future
international legal agreement on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in
outer space, which was circulated in 2002 as a document of the Conference on
Disarmament.
Russia believes that an agreement of this kind will help ensure that peaceful
activities can be effectively conducted in outer space and that multilateral
cooperation can be expanded in this area, in conformity with international law,
and that it will help strengthen the international legal regime for the
protection of present and future space objects on the basis of the principle
enshrined in the United Nations Charter of the non-use of force or the threat of
force in international relations.
We are also prepared to accept a new mechanism to ensure openness and to build
confidence in the domain of outer space: the advance notification of planned
launches of space objects, their purpose and their basic parameters."
[Top]
Statement by Ambassador Leonid A. Skotnikov to the
Conference on Disarmament, June 28, 2002
(Full text of statement)
"Today we and the delegation of the People's Republic of China together submit,
for attention of the participants of the CD, a draft document containing
possible elements of an international legal agreement on the prevention of the
deployment of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer
space objects. We put on record our gratitude to the delegations of Belarus,
Indonesia, Syria, Vietnam and Zimbabwe, which expressed their willingness to
cosponsor it. The relevant request to distribute it as an official document of
the Conference has already been forwarded to the CD Secretariat. The response
given by our partners during an unofficial presentation of the paper in the
Chinese mission on 28 May, as well as the consultations held on the topic in the
capitals further strengthened our conviction that this step was both correct and
timely. We are grateful to all those delegations which extended their support to
the basic ideas of our initiative, as well as those which suggested specific
directions to improve it.
In proposing basic parameters of a possible new agreement in the area of outer
space, we have taken into account the experience of nearly a nine-year work of
the CD Ad Hoc Committee on PAROS. We consider that our predecessors have already
done a lot in this direction by having prepared the issue for negotiation. The
developments in the world during the last years have only increased the urgency
of resolving the issue of PAROS. That is why we support the urgent adoption
today of all measures possible in order to prevent the deployment of weapons in
outer space, rather than waste subsequently huge efforts and resources to have
it "de-weaponized".
When we were preparing the paper which is being submitted to your attention we
had sought to take into account the basic approaches by our partners towards the
problem. While recognizing the value of all the judgements and observations made
during the briefing in the Chinese mission, we have decided, however, to refrain
from amending the paper at this stage. We believe that these ideas should be
subject to a careful elaboration within an appropriate Ad Hoc Committee. I will
stress that our principal aim today is to stimulate the early start of
substantive discussions in the CD on the issue of PAROS. We do not envisage any
tracks parallel to the CD in order to discuss these issues.
While elaborating with the People's Republic of China the basic elements of a
future agreement, we were taking into account the fact that the existing
international legal regime regulating outer space activities contains a serious
gap - the absence of a prohibition to deploy in outer space weapons other than
weapons of mass destruction. In 1972 Moscow and Washington decided to partially
fill it in bilaterally: the Parties included in the ABM Treaty the commitment
"not to develop, test, or deploy ABM systems or components which are ...
space-based...". Unfortunately, this rule, which significance extended far beyond
the framework of the Russian-US relations and which had a global strategic
dimension, also ceased exist a few days ago, concurrently with the ABM Treaty.
It is also worth mentioning the absence today of any legal impediments to
deploying around the Earth, for instance, of anti-satellite weapons.
In these conditions, we propose to jointly give a thought to establishing
international legal restrictions on the deployment of strike weapons in outer
space. I wish to emphasize that it is not a matter of making any prejudice to
outer space activities which are defense-related and which are based on the UN
Charter. More than that, in accordance with the UN Charter, in particular with
its provisions on the non-use of force in international relations, we propose
that additional international legal protection be provided to outer space
objects.
In so doing, we are not at all seeking to detract from the significance of
Article 51 of the UN Charter concerning the right to self-defense. Application
of this Article as practice shows is quite compatible with the processes of arms
control and disarmament.
We naturally take into account the fact that the achievements in outer space
technology are actively used for such "auxiliary" military purposes as
communication, navigation, global positioning systems etc. They are also applied
to maintain strategic stability in the world, namely to ensure that disarmament
arrangements are complied with. We believe that in future the use of outer
space-based means will make it possible to resolve a broader range of issues of
international security, such as, for example, nuclear and missile technologies
proliferation control, conventional and strategic arms build-up in potential
conflict areas etc. But this does not mean, not at all, that military activities
in outer space should be used to obtain the superiority in force.
Thus, the Russian delegation is proceeding from the assumption that the future
agreement would not hinder outer space activities in accordance with
international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, in the interests
of maintaining international peace and security, and promoting international
cooperation.
We are looking forward to a constructive dialogue and we are prepared to take
into account considerations of all the participants in the CD in order to give a
specific substance to the document and achieve a mutually acceptable compromise
on its language."
{Updated
11/1/2005}
