The United Nations was unable to adopt a groundbreaking resolution for the second time in almost a month. This time, the resolution, backed by Russia, aimed to prevent a weapons race in outer space.
The resolution on Monday received support from Algeria, Ecuador, China, Guyana, Mozambique, Russia, and Sierra Leone. However, France, Japan, Malta, Korea, Slovenia, Britain, and the United States voted against it.
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The resolution required a minimum of nine votes to be passed, with Switzerland being the only country that abstained.
In April, the United Nations’ 15-member security council witnessed a vote where Russia vetoed a U.S.- and Japan-sponsored U.N. resolution. This resolution aimed to oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and had similar language to the one that was rejected on Tuesday.
In April, a resolution similar to the current one received support from 13 member nations, while China chose to abstain from voting.
During the introduction of Monday’s resolution, the Russian representative expressed concerns about the portrayal of the Russian Federation in a negative manner by the West and other countries. They emphasized that a certain plan of action is being assigned to them, which they do not possess.
According to Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s United Nations representative, Russia aims to go beyond mere words and take concrete action to show the peaceful nature of their intentions. Nebenzya criticized the previous resolution by Japan and the United States, calling it blatantly politicized.
He emphasized that today’s vote represents a significant moment of truth for our Western colleagues. He also stated that the draft resolution is comprehensive in nature and reflects the interests and aspirations of an overwhelming majority of UN members.
President Joe Biden recently signed bipartisan legislation that prohibits the importation of Russian uranium. This decision is a significant step towards reducing the United States’ reliance on the Kremlin-controlled resource. Additionally, it serves to cut off another key revenue source for the Putin regime’s military conflicts, particularly in light of the ongoing war with Ukraine.
In his remarks on Monday, U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood, the U.N.’s alternate representative for special political affairs, accused Russia of attempting to divert global attention away from its development of a new satellite equipped with a nuclear device. He revealed that Russia launched this satellite on May 16, placing it in the same low Earth orbit as a U.S. government satellite.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty aims to prohibit member countries, including the United States and Russia, from deploying any objects containing weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons into the Earth’s orbit. However, Russia contends that their version of the treaty adequately addresses these concerns, which the United States has raised objections to.
The White House confirmed in February that Russia is developing “anti-satellite capability,” but it is not considered an immediate threat. On May 16, the Russian Federation launched a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. However, the Russian government has not provided any information about the satellite or its mission at this time.
According to Wood, the Russian proposal presented today does not aim to enhance arms control. Instead, it would limit the scope of efforts in other United Nations bodies, which could have negative consequences for preventing an arms race in outer space.
