Yakovenko was commenting on statements - published in The Financial Times - made by Yermakov, the senior counselor of the Russian embassy in Washington, who allegedly said Russia would consider using force if the United States put weapons in outer space.

"Essentially, our position is that at different international forums Russia actively pursues a policy line in favor of preventing the placement of armaments in space. It is our consistent and principled position," stressed the official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Alexander Yakovenko restated what the Russian diplomat said at the Washington conference: "Our policy is not aimed at creating situations that could lead to a confrontation. If we cannot find understanding with the administration of the United States and find ourselves in a situation when we have to react, we'll certainly do it."

All the rest beyond the framework of this utterance is "the daily's interpretation," Alexander Yakovenko said.

In the opinion of the first deputy of the Russian defense minister, and chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, Yuri Baluevski, the United States President George Bush would not allow the militarization of space.

"Today's generally recognized international norms for representatives of all the leading powers prevent the militarization of space," Baluevski told RIA Novosti in an interview on Wednesday, May 18.

He said that this issue has been discussed many times in the United Nations and not a single state, including the United States, has so far officially declared a violation of the moratorium on the militarization of space."

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