The United States and Russia next week will conduct their first formal, bilateral talks on space security since 2013, following a U.S. allegation that Russia tested a space-based anti-satellite weapon this month, a U.S. official said on Friday.
Washington hopes to promote norms of responsible behavior in outer space, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for international security and nonproliferation, Christopher Ford, said, calling for greater stability, predictability and crisis mamagement tools.
A U.S. State Department spokesman said the talks would take place Monday in Vienna.
Ford told reporters the United States believed Russia and China have already turned space into “a war-fighting domain,” noting the U.S. Space Command has said it has evidence that Russia tested a space-based anti-satellite weapon on July 15.
