Russia promises retaliation if weapons deployed in space

(Adds details, Popovkin quotes in paragraphs 3-8)

MOSCOW, September 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to take appropriate measures if weapons are deployed in space, the commander of the Russian Space Forces said Thursday.

"Should any country deploy weapons in space, then the laws of armed warfare are such that retaliatory weapons are certain to appear," Col. Gen. Vladimir Popovkin said.

He said Russia and China have drafted an international declaration on the non-deployment of weapons in space and sent it to the UN.

"It is necessary to establish the rules of the game in space," he said, adding that the deployment of weapons in space could have unpredictable consequences, since such weapons are "very complex systems."

"A sizable war could break out," the commander said.

He said space must not be the sphere of interests of any one country.

"We do not want to fight in space, and we do not want to call the shots there either, but we will not permit any other country to do so," he said.

Popovkin also said that Russia has an integrated missile attack warning system, covering the country's entire territory.