Syria and Russia sign joint statement on non-deployment of weapons in outer space

 Syria and Russia have signed a joint statement declaring that they will not be the first to deploy weapons in outer space.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Syria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Mikdad signed the joint statement on Thursday in Moscow.

“This document is a new important step within the framework of the globalization of an international initiative on banning the deployment of weapons in space with the aim of unifying countries’ efforts to ban an arms race in the outer space,” according to the ministry.

 “Given that this document is the only way to measure transparency and confidence and the basis to implement the objectives of the plan to ban an arms race in outer space, this initiative constitutes a major political factor that contributes to guaranteeing equal and indivisible security to all,” the ministry said.

“Doing so enhances the sustainability of countries’ activities that aim at exploring and using the outer space for peaceful purposes ”, the ministry pointed out.

It clarified that Russia and Syria affirmed the need to conclude an international treaty that prohibits the deployment and use of weapons in outer space and they called on the states, which are not members in the initiative on banning the deployment of weapons in space, to consider joining it.

Hamda Mustafa