MOSCOW, April 23. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed on establishing common navigation space, Kremlin administration head Sergei Ivanov said at Navitech-2014 forum.

“The creation of common navigation space between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus is among our top priorities. Appropriate arrangements, including paperwork, have already been agreed upon,” Ivanov stressed.

The Kremlin administration head noted that national navigation systems will be integrated while the quality and reliability of navigation services will be improved.

Ivanov also emphasized that Russia intends to expand international cooperation in satellite navigation. In particular, Russian specialists will participate in the work of international structures that define rules and recommendations for ensuring compatibility between the Russian navigation system with other services.

 

Development of GLONASS

The Kremlin administration head said that the land-measuring segment of the GLONASS system abroad will include 50 stations in 35 countries. Ivanov reminded that only two stations were operating at the moment – in Brazil and Antarctica.

Ivanov noted that developing the land-measuring segment of GLONASS will increase the competitiveness of Russian navigation services on the global market and will ensure the stability and precision of the system.

 

US decision to freeze construction of GLONASS stations

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has described as politically motivated the United States’ decision to freeze the construction of GLONASS signal calibration stations in its territory.

“Over the past few months we have been faced with the effects of a politically motivated decision against Russia by certain members of the world community, the United States in particular,” Rogozin told the Navitech-2014 forum on Wednesday. “Since mid-1990s, in accordance with the applicable agreements between Russia and the United States, the Russian Federation has deployed ground infrastructures for the GPS navigation system.”

Rogozin recalled that 11 signal calibration stations were deployed in 11 Russian regions.

“When we said that we would like to have a similar infrastructure in the US territory,  problems emerged all of a sudden,” he said.

Rogozin says he is curious about the reasons, because the point at issue is free use of a navigation system’s signal, which is a matter of international cooperation.

“We shall keep working with our US counterparts,” he said, adding thet Russia would keep pressing for developing the infrastructure in the near future.