Sergei Ryabkov: The United States has not provided evidence to prove its allegations that Moscow is planning to deploy nuclear weapons in space. (European Archives)

Russia denied the validity of American statements regarding its efforts to deploy nuclear weapons in space, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the United States had not provided any evidence regarding allegations that Moscow was planning to deploy nuclear weapons in space.

The Russian official told reporters in response to a question in this regard, "The Americans are exploiting the issue for propaganda purposes, and are making baseless accusations that are not supported by any evidence, and this is their usual method."

Ryabkov pointed out that contacts between Russia and the United States in this regard were fruitless, saying that "there cannot be any progress on this issue, and the reason is clear, which is the absurdity of the American accusations against us."

Asked whether Russia was considering the possibility of withdrawing from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Ryabkov said, "No, we are not thinking about that."

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal quoted American officials as saying that Washington had contacted Moscow directly to warn against deploying new nuclear weapons in space.

They pointed out that these efforts violate the Outer Space Treaty and expose US national security interests to danger.

American media also reported “intelligence information” indicating that Russia is seeking to deploy nuclear capabilities in space as part of attempts to develop an anti-satellite nuclear weapon in space. However, Russia denies these efforts and confirms that it opposes the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.

Earlier, American media quoted intelligence sources as saying that American lawmakers could have been told in a secret briefing about Russia’s alleged plans to “deploy nuclear weapons in space” for use against satellites.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the White House, which announced a secret briefing on a "serious threat to national security," is trying to encourage the US Congress to vote in favor of a bill on allocating funds to Ukraine.

Source: Agencies