The text received 13 votes in favor, with China abstaining and Russia voting against, which as a permanent member of the Security Council has the power to block a draft resolution.
After the vote, the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated that Moscow’s veto raises questions about what Vladimir Putin’s government may be hiding.
Several diplomats lamented the Russian veto and argued that an opportunity was missed to strengthen global security by preventing the weaponization of space.
The resolution, which was sponsored by dozens of countries, including Portugal, called on all countries not to develop or deploy weapons of mass destruction in space.
The vote on this draft resolution followed confirmation by the White House last month that Russia has obtained a “concerning” anti-satellite weaponry capability, although such a weapon is not yet operational.
Russian President Vladimir Putin later declared that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has merely developed space capabilities similar to those of the United States.
The now-vetoed draft resolution advocated that “preventing an arms race in space would avert a grave danger to international peace and security.”
It urged all countries carrying out exploration and use of outer space to comply with international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
The project also stressed that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty should fulfill their obligations not to place in orbit around the Earth “any objects” with weapons of mass destruction, or install them “on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space.”
It also stressed “the need for new measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with adequate and effective provisions for verification, to avoid an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”
Throughout the negotiations, China and Russia claimed that their concerns had not been adequately addressed by the project’s co-owners.
Before the vote, Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, claimed before the Council that the resolution was “absurd and politicized”.
The diplomat also proposed a operative paragraph arguing that an arms race in outer space should refer to all types of weapons — not just nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
However, this Russian amendment proposal was not approved.
