Russia has announced that it will suspend cooperation with Western partners necessary for the mission of the International Space Station (ISS) if international sanctions are not lifted.
According to Sputnik News, Russian Federation Space Agency (Roscosmos) president Dmitry Rogozin posted on his Telegram account, "We will soon report to the government the specific plans for the cessation of ISS cooperation with the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan. I plan to do it,” he said.
He added that Russian-Western space cooperation would only be possible if all sanctions imposed on Russia by the international community were lifted.
However, the US and EU have rejected Russia's request to discuss ways to lift sanctions on the Russian space industry, Sputnik News reported.
When the United States and the EU launched all-round sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, there were constant concerns that Russia's backlash could disrupt the operation of the ISS.
Since the ISS has been created and operated jointly by the US and Russia, Russia's refusal to cooperate could cause a major setback in the operation of the ISS.
Russia, which has been operating the ISS together with the United States since 2000, is responsible for periodically maintaining the ISS's altitude of 400 km above the sky by spraying the engine of the space cargo ship 'Progress'.
The US is in charge of supplying power to the ISS and operating life support systems, so it is not easy to operate without either one.
In this regard, there is talk of a plan for the US space exploration company SpaceX and others to take over the task of maintaining the ISS's altitude on behalf of Russia.
(Photo = provided by NASA, Yonhap News)