AFP / AFX, MOSCOW: Russia has no intention of putting nuclear weapons into space, a top Russian military commander was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
'Russia doesn't plan to do that — I can say that categorically,' General Vladimir Popovkin — head of Russia's military space command — said in response to a question about the possibility of Russia putting nuclear weapons into orbit.
'I hope that humanity has enough sense not to put such awful weapons into space,' Popovkin told reporters.
His remarks come a week after the US broadsheet, The New York Times, reported that the US Air Force is seeking a national security directive from US President George Bush that could lead to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons.
A US Air Force spokeswoman, Karen Finn, was quoted in the report as saying that 'the focus of the process is not putting weapons in space… The focus is having free access in space.
