The head of the Russian space agency says business as usual with NASA and the EU is impossible unless restrictions are lifted
The head of the Russian space agency says he will propose a plan on ending the partnership with the West and Japan on the International Space Station (ISS).
Saturday’s statement comes in response to sanctions imposed on Moscow following its attack on Ukraine, which was launched in February.
Dmitry Rogozin said Roscosmos will soon present its “proposals regarding the timetable of the end of cooperation on the ISS with US, Canadian, EU, and Japanese space agencies” to the country’s leadership.
According to Rogozin, joint work on the International Space Station cannot go on as usual unless restrictions are lifted.
“The position of our partners is clear: the sanctions will not be lifted,” Rogozin wrote on social media. “The goal of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, impose despair and hunger on our people, and bring our country to its knees. They will obviously fail, but the goals are clear.”
This is why I believe the restoration of normal relations with [our] partners regarding the International Space Station and other joint projects is only possible with the full and unconditional lifting of the illegal sanctions.
The Roscosmos chief cited what he said were letters he received from NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the European Space Agency (ESA). While NASA and the CSA said they were ready to continue cooperation on the ISS, the ESA said it would refer the issue to individual EU member states.
Many countries have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, targeting its banks, finances, and the import of sensitive technology, among other things.
Moscow attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014, and Russia’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to regularize the status of the regions within the Ukrainian state.
Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join NATO. Kiev says the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com
