AFP Washington

Washington

Updated Thursday, February 15, 2024-22:23

The United States assured this Thursday that

Russia

is developing a

worrying anti-satellite weapon,

although it does not pose a direct threat to the population.

On Wednesday, the

head of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner,

caused rivers of ink to flow when he mentioned this threat and urged President

Joe Biden

to "declassify all information" on the subject.

"I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia has developed," National Security Council

spokesman John Kirby told reporters .

"This is not an active capability that has been deployed. And while Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is concerning, there is no immediate threat to anyone's security," he said.

"We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack people or cause physical destruction here on Earth," he added, but this does not prevent the United States from following this Russian activity "closely" and taking it "very seriously."

Biden has ordered "direct diplomatic contacts" to be made with Russia, but none have yet occurred, Kirby said.

The head of US diplomacy,

Antony Blinken,

visiting Albania, did not want to give details about the threat, but stated that it is still "potential."

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

held

a closed-door meeting with congressional leaders on Thursday about these events.

Turner's words on Wednesday raised eyebrows.

It is very rare for senior officials with access to intelligence information to publicly disclose ongoing matters unless there is a risk to the public.

Congressmen are not authorized to disclose the classified information that is sent to them.

In an attempt to prevent panic, the president of the House of Representatives, Republican

Mike Johnson,

reacted by saying that

"there is no cause for alarm."

"Unfounded"

Russia

considered the reports "unfounded"

and attributed them to a maneuver by the US government to force the approval of an aid package for Ukraine that has been blocked for months in Congress.

"We constantly repeat that we will not respond to various unfounded accusations. If they make statements they should be accompanied by evidence," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov

told Russian press agencies .

"This is part of the trend of the last ten years in which Americans are dedicated to malevolent inventions and attribute to us all kinds of actions or intentions that do not suit them," he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov

also

reacted: "It is clear that the White House is trying to encourage Congress to pass the finance law, it is obvious. We will see what trick the White House will use."

The Senate, with a Democratic majority, has approved a new $60 billion aid package for kyiv, but the Republican leader of the House of Representatives refuses to vote on it.

According to Kirby, the besieged Ukrainian city of Avdiivka "is in danger of falling under Russian control."

The West has accused Russia of nuclear rhetoric after President Vladimir Putin said he is willing to use nuclear weapons if he senses an existential threat.

The Outer Space Treaty, to which both Russia and the United States are parties, prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.