(Bloomberg) -- Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have reaffirmed a global commitment against deploying nuclear weapons in space, rebuffing US efforts to shine a spotlight on Moscow’s reported plans to do so.

The resolution underscored that countries are “not to develop nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” designed to be placed in space. The proposal also reaffirmed that countries must “fully comply” with their obligations under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bans nuclear weapons in orbit.

Thirteen of 15 Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, while China abstained. The negative vote from Russia — which wields veto power as a permanent member of the council — was enough to block it.

“They’re attempting to portray our country as being uninterested in preventing an arms race in outer space,” Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said before the vote. “This is absurd.”

The US unveiled plans for the resolution weeks after Washington said Moscow had plans to develop an anti-satellite space weapon. People familiar with the matter have said the US told allies that Russia could deploy a nuclear weapon or a mock warhead into space as early as this year. President Vladimir Putin has denied the claims.

“As we have noted previously, the United States assesses that Russia is developing a new satellite carrying a nuclear device,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement after the vote. “We have heard President Putin say publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. If that were the case, Russia would not have vetoed this resolution.”

US officials had since then stepped up pressure on Russia to get on board with the proposal they say reaffirms principles it already agreed to as a member of the Outer Space Treaty. The veto is likely to raise serious concerns in Washington that Moscow is planning on deploying nuclear weapons in space, a senior US official who asked not to be named discussing the sensitive topic, said ahead of the vote.

(Updates with Jake Sullvian comment in 6th paragraph.)

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