The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken expressed concern on Friday to his Indian and Chinese counterparts about the fact that Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon, we learned from an American official.
Mr. Blinken met separately on Friday in Munich, on the sidelines of the Security Conference, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Nuclear dimension
He told them that the
"development of such an anti-satellite capability should be a matter of concern
," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that the US secretary of state would also share it during other interviews.
The White House said Thursday that Russia was developing
“an anti-satellite capability
,” while refusing to say whether it had a nuclear dimension or not.
She stressed at the same time that this did not represent
“an immediate threat”
.
“We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause destruction on Earth
,” explained White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Thursday.
But it could threaten astronauts traveling in low Earth orbit or even damage military or civilian satellites, he said, assuring that the United States is
“monitoring the situation closely”
and will continue
“to take it very seriously”
.