CSTO Foreign Ministers Adopt Statement Against Space Arms Race

The foreign ministers of the CSTO Member States adopted a statement on the prevention of a space arms race at a meeting in Minsk.

The ministers also reviewed draft decisions on the establishment of the Together for Peace Medal, on changes in the Organization’s budget, as well as on the distribution of quota positions in the CSTO Secretariat, and adopted a statement on the situation in Afghanistan.

“In this statement we stressed the inadmissibility of the placement of weapons in outer space and the threat of force in space,” Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik said.

He stressed that the CSTO countries are interested in de-escalation of tensions not only on the regional, but also on the global level.

The statement calls on space-faring nations to take urgent measures to prevent the placement of weapons in outer space, the use or threat of force in outer space against the Earth, as well as from the Earth against space objects.

“We believe that outer space should be used in accordance with international law for the benefit of all peoples, regardless of their level of economic or scientific and technological development,” reads the Statement.

As you may recall, the CSTO Parliamentarians adopted the Statement against an arms race in outer space in Minsk on May 18, 2023. It was noted that in the modern world it is vital to increase predictability in the activities of the countries in the exploration and use of outer space.

It was decided that the next meeting of the CSTO CFM would be held in the Republic of Belarus in the fourth quarter of 2023.