MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2021) French top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian and defense chief Florence Parly have called on Russia to take part in the UN-backed talks on the peaceful and responsible use of outer space, which are expected to kick off in the coming months.
According to the ministers, the dialogue will be launched within the UN framework soon. Many nations requested rules for the behavior in space to reduce risks, including "the intentional creation of debris." France and the European Union have already submitted their proposals on the set of relevant rules to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the ministers said.
"France calls on Russia to participate in these discussions for the implementation of standards in space," the ministers said in a joint statement issued late on Tuesday.
Le Drian and Parly slammed a test of the anti-satellite system, conducted by the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday. The system hit an inoperative Russian satellite, Tselina-D, which had been in orbit since 1982. The US State Department said that the Russian test generated thousands of bits of debris threatening the interests of all nations, claims denied by Moscow.
While Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu maintains that the fragments of the old satellite formed during the test do not pose any threat to space activities, the French ministers said that it was an "irresponsible action" that will have long-lasting effects on the space activities.
