MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's new missile defense strategy will lead to a dangerous arms race in space and could bring the Cold War-era Star Wars program back to normal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry urged Washington to reconsider the matter and engage in constructive talks with Russia on the balance of nuclear weapons "before it is too late."
US President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a plan to develop space sensors to monitor enemy missiles, explore deploying weapons in space to drop missiles, and other steps to defend the United States.
In a US plan statement, the ministry said it was leaning toward confrontation, saying it would strike a blow to already fragile international stability.
"We are particularly concerned about the paragraphs dealing with plans to develop an American missile defense weapon in space," the statement said. "The strategy actually gives the green light to the possibility of building offensive missile capabilities in space."
"The implementation of these ideas will inevitably lead to the start of an arms race in space, which will have the most negative consequences on international security and stability."