<p>Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and his defence minister flatly denied US claims that Russia was developing a nuclear capability for space.</p><p>An unidentified source briefed on the matter told <em>Reuters</em> last week in the United States that Washington had new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities and attempts to develop a space-based weapon.</p><p>"Our position is clear and transparent: we have always been categorically against and are now against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space," Putin told Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister</p><p>"We urge not only compliance with all agreements that exist in this area, but also offered to strengthen this joint work many times," Putin said.</p><p>He added that Russia's activities in space did not differ from those of other countries, including the United States.</p><p>US sources had suggested that Russia had some sort of new capability in space, but there was little detail and no evidence was published.</p><p>The New York Times newspaper reported that the U.S. intelligence was related to Russia’s attempts to develop a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon.</p><p>Commenting on the allegation, Shoigu said that there were no plans of the kind outlined by the unidentified sources in the United States.</p><p>"Firstly, there are no such projects - nuclear weapons in space. Secondly, the United States knows that this does not exist," Shoigu told Putin.</p><p>He accused the White House of trying to scare U.S. lawmakers into allocating more funds for Ukraine as part of Washington's plan to inflict what he said was a strategic defeat on Russia.</p><p>He said the second reason for the leaked information about the alleged Russian weapon was to encourage Russia to engage in a dialogue about strategic stability.</p><p>Putin said Russia had never been against discussions about strategic stability. </p>
<p>Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and his defence minister flatly denied US claims that Russia was developing a nuclear capability for space.</p><p>An unidentified source briefed on the matter told <em>Reuters</em> last week in the United States that Washington had new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities and attempts to develop a space-based weapon.</p><p>"Our position is clear and transparent: we have always been categorically against and are now against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space," Putin told Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister</p><p>"We urge not only compliance with all agreements that exist in this area, but also offered to strengthen this joint work many times," Putin said.</p><p>He added that Russia's activities in space did not differ from those of other countries, including the United States.</p><p>US sources had suggested that Russia had some sort of new capability in space, but there was little detail and no evidence was published.</p><p>The New York Times newspaper reported that the U.S. intelligence was related to Russia’s attempts to develop a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon.</p><p>Commenting on the allegation, Shoigu said that there were no plans of the kind outlined by the unidentified sources in the United States.</p><p>"Firstly, there are no such projects - nuclear weapons in space. Secondly, the United States knows that this does not exist," Shoigu told Putin.</p><p>He accused the White House of trying to scare U.S. lawmakers into allocating more funds for Ukraine as part of Washington's plan to inflict what he said was a strategic defeat on Russia.</p><p>He said the second reason for the leaked information about the alleged Russian weapon was to encourage Russia to engage in a dialogue about strategic stability.</p><p>Putin said Russia had never been against discussions about strategic stability. </p>