US confirms Russia working on anti-satellite weapon
Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon that is a cause for concern for the United States but poses no direct threat to people on Earth, the White House said on Thursday. The United States is now reaching out to Moscow over the weapon, whose existence was confirmed after lawmakers warned of an unspecified but serious threat to national security, it added. Moscow denied the "malicious" and "unfounded" claims, describing them as a White House ploy to try to pass a multi-billion-dollar Ukrainian war aid package stalled in Congress. "I can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that Russia has developed," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing at the White House. "This is not an active capability that's been deployed. And though Russia's pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety," he said. "We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth." The United States was nevertheless "closely monitoring this Russian activity and we will continue to take it very seriously". US President Joe Biden had ordered officials to launch "direct diplomatic engagement" with Russia over the weapon, but there had been no contact yet with Moscow, Kirby said. Kirby would not confirm reports that the Russian anti-satellite capability was a space-based nuclear weapon. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was holding a closed-doors meeting with congressional leaders on Thursday about the developments. Mystery and concern has gripped Washington since House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner issued a public statement on Wednesday referring to a "serious national security threat" and calling on Biden to "declassify all information relating to this threat." The sudden announcement irked Sullivan, who signalled frustration that Turner had gone public ahead of the briefing already planned for Thursday. Sullivan said he would be meeting with the four House members in the "Gang of Eight" group of party leaders and top intelligence committee members, adding that it was "highly unusual" for him to seek such a meeting. Democrat Biden and the Republican-led House are at an impasse over a White House request for US$60 billion in military aid to help Ukraine's defence against Russia as the conflict enters its third year. (AFP)