President Vladimir Putin told Russia's Security Council on Friday that Moscow has no plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space, and that neutralisation of threats in space must be always be in the spotlight for Russia, Russian news agencies reported.

Unidentified sources in the United States say Russia is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon but Putin has said he opposes nuclear weapons in space and Moscow has flatly denied the U.S. assertions. (Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)