ST. PETERSBURG. June 8 (Interfax) - Space objects are a real threat to Earth and should be considered in earnest, globally, said Russia's National Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev.
"Asteroids and meteors approach the Earth permanently. All space experts know that very well. We are not under direct threat right now, but we could at once," he told reporters in St. Petersburg on Friday.
"The world community must think and understand how this space threat should be dealt with, and get prepared to tackle it in advance," he said.
Russia's partners in the UN share this approach, he also said.
Not only space objects are a threat, but also space garbage, which is orbiting the earth, Patrushev said.
The seriousness of the problem of shielding the earth from threats coming from space can be judged from the special importance, attached to it at the international conference of high representatives for security, which ended in St. Petersburg on Friday, Patrushev said.