CIS Monitoring Desk Islamabad
The ministers of foreign affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan issued a joint statement after their meeting in Turkmenistan in which they pledged to support practical steps to stop arm race in outer space.
The Joint Statment is as under :
The CIS member states conduct activities relating to exploration and use of outer space in full compliance with the Charter of the United Nations, the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, and other regulations and principles of international law, in the interests of promoting international cooperation and mutual understanding and maintaining international peace and security. The Parties advocate broad joint efforts by the international community to improve the relevant international legal framework.
The CIS member states express serious concern over the real prospect of an arms race in outer space and its transformation into an arena of military confrontation, which undermines global stability. The Parties note that a ban on placing weapons of any kind in outer space, as well as on the use or threat of force against space objects or through the use of such objects, could prevent the emergence of a serious threat to international peace and security.
The Parties also emphasise the unacceptability of using space systems and their associated ground infrastructure for purposes that are incompatible with maintaining international peace and security and strengthening trust among states.
The CIS member states reiterate the exceptional importance of taking immediate practical measures to prevent an arms race in outer space (PAROS). The most effective of these remains the negotiation by the international community of a multilateral, legally binding instrument that would provide reliable guarantees for preventing an arms race in outer space and prohibiting the placement of weapons there.
This instrument should be based on the Russian-Chinese draft treaty on preventing the placement of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer space objects, and the substantive report of the Group of Governmental Experts on PAROS, established pursuant to UN General Assembly Resolution 77/250 and adopted by consensus in 2024.
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The Parties reaffirm the key role of the Conference on Disarmament, which is the single multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament, in negotiations on an international agreement to prevent an arms race in outer space.
The CIS member states welcome the launch of a discussion on the substantive elements of a legally binding international instrument on PAROS, as well as on non-binding measures, within the framework of the UN Open-Ended Working Group established by UN General Assembly Decision 79/512. These discussions include, in particular, preventing the placement of weapons in outer space. The Parties look forward to the Working Group achieving substantive results.
The Parties share the view that transparency and confidence-building measures help prevent the placement of weapons in outer space. At the same time, they emphasise that any possible non-binding measures on PAROS must, directly or indirectly, contribute to a comprehensive ban on placing weapons in outer space and on the use or threat of force against space objects or through the use of such objects. Such measures must complement, rather than replace, legally binding agreements on PAROS.
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Pending the conclusion of a legally binding agreement to prevent the placement of weapons in outer space, the CIS member states will strongly support the international community’s efforts to preserve outer space as a weapons-free environment. The promotion of the multilateral initiative and political commitment on the non-first placement of weapons in outer space (NFP) is an important contribution to these efforts.
As the only transparency and confidence-building measure currently being implemented for the purpose of preventing an arms race in outer space, the NFP initiative is an important political factor in strengthening international peace, ensuring equal and indivisible security for all, and enhancing the predictability and sustainability of states’ activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.
The Parties support efforts to globalise the NFP initiative and call on all states to join the above international initiative.
The CIS member states note the broad support for the resolutions “No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space,” “Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space,” and “Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities” adopted at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. This support demonstrates that the international community shares the objectives set out in these resolutions in the area of preventing an arms race in outer space.
