spacetoday.net: Putin calls for demilitarization of space

Posted: Tue, Apr 13, 2004, 12:22 AM ET (0422 GMT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that space should be demilitarized, but suggested no specific steps Russia would take steps towards that goal. Putin, speaking on the 43rd anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic flight, said that "we must do everything we can, and we will do it, in order to demilitarize outer space." Reports about his comments left unclear whether he was talking about any military usage of space, or simply proposals by the US to deploy missile defense or other weapons systems in orbit. He added that while Russia would seek to keep space from being "an area of military-political confrontation", he noted that such confrontation "will last for quite a long time." He did not outline what steps Russia would take to stop military use of space. Russia has launched two military satellites, both apparently for communications, this year.