Russia says cooperation in space only possible once West fully removes sanctions
The head of Russia’s space agency says Russia will only restore normal relations with the International Space Station (ISS) only after the West removes its illegal sanctions against Moscow.
Dmitry Rogozin, director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said on Saturday that Russia would suspend cooperation with Western countries over the ISS until their “illegal sanctions” against Moscow are lifted.
In a social media post, he said the aim of these sanctions “is to kill Russian economy and plunge our people into despair and hunger and to get our country on its knees.” He also stressed that “they won’t succeed in it, but the intentions are clear.”
“That’s why I believe that the restoration of normal relations between the partners at the International Space Station (ISS) and other projects is possible only with full and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions,” Rogozin added.
The director of Russia’s space agency further said that Roscosmos’ proposals as to when to end cooperation over the ISS with space agencies of the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan would soon be reported to Russian authorities.
Rogozin had earlier warned that the sanctions could “destroy” the US-Russian partnership on the ISS.
After Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the US and its European allies began imposing waves of sweeping sanctions against Russia.
Despite the tensions, an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts safely landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after leaving the ISS aboard the same capsule.
Last month, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it was halting cooperation with Roscosmos over the ExoMars rover mission to search for signs of life on the surface of Mars.
Rogozin’s comments came just two days after White House spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield announced that the US Commerce Department would impose further sanctions on Russia over its operation in Ukraine.
The new sanctions to be unveiled in the coming days would target Russia's defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, she added.
Last month, Russia President Vladimir Putin said that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war.
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