Russa's warning on Militarization of Space

I guess we have to watch our guard.......


BAIKONUR, June 2, 2005 - /RIA Novosti/ - Russia will take adequate measures in case of attempts to militarize space, defense minister Sergei Ivanov told journalists at the Baikonur space center on Thursday. "If some state is nurturing plans or begins to orbit weapons, we will react adequately," the minister said.

Ivanov stressed that for decades Russia's stand on the matter was openly negative and remains negative.

Russia does not plan to curtail its defense and security operation in Baikonur, whose 50th anniversary is marked today.

"The Baikonur space center is not the only Russian spaceport [by agreement with Kazakhstan, Russia leased the center for 49 years]. We have recently launched many military spacecraft from other spaceports [such as Plesetsk in the north of European Russia and Svobodny in the Amur region in the Far East]. But this does not mean that we will curtail defense and security operation in Baikonur, Ivanov said.

According to him, there are no plans to withdraw the regiments or battalions of the Space Force from Baikonur.

"There should be as many servicemen here as would suffice to ensure security," the defense minister said.

Russia will be ready to discuss agreements on tactical nuclear weapons only when the countries that have them will withdraw these weapons to their national territory, Ivanov said commenting on the US Senators' offer of a treaty to ban tactical nuclear weapons.

The minister stressed that now Russia is the only country that keeps its tactical nuclear weapons on the national territory. "As you know, the other countries do not do this," Sergei Ivanov said.