Russia says US plans for space force herald new arms race

The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern about U.S. plans to create a separate space force, saying that taking weapons into space could trigger a new arms race.

President Donald Trump said Monday he is directing the Pentagon to create a new "Space Force" as a separate branch of the military aimed at ensuring American supremacy in space.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the move appears to signal Washington's intention to deploy weapons in space. She warned that the militarization of space "could be fraught with consequences no less harmful than the nuclear arms race."

"We must have American dominance in space," he told reporters in televised comments. Russia, which already has a space force, reacted with concern.

"The most worrisome part of this news is it clearly indicates that the purpose of the assignment is to ensure dominance in the cosmos," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in the central city of Samara.

"Increasing military potential in the cosmos, especially after the appearance of weapons there, would have a destabilizing impact on strategic stability and international security," Zakharova said, according to comments carried by Russian state news agency TASS.

Zakharova also noted that Russia and China have proposed an international treaty that would ban space-based weapons.
Russia in recent years has taken part in numerous initiatives for the "prevention of an arms race in outer space," she concluded.