MOSCOW, September 30. /ITAR-TASS/. The delegates from Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday they applied for Canadian visas in advance to attend an international space event in Toronto, but only two out of eight people have been issued visas.

“Eight people from Roscosmos were scheduled to participate in the congress. Everyone submitted the documents for the visas in advance. However, only two people - representatives of intercompany and international departments - were issued visas on time,” the space agency's press service said.

The spokesperson declined to comment on the reasons why Canadian visas weren't issued for Russians.

Russian cosmonaut and first deputy head of the TsNIIMash research institute, Sergei Krikalev, said earlier on Tuesday he was not issued a Canadian visa due to a delayed application procedure rather than political reasons.

Krikalev, 56, joined by a group of Russian specialists, was scheduled to take part in the 65th International Astronautical Congress 2014, the world's major space event, taking place in Toronto, Canada, this week.

“I did not fly there as the visa was not ready, they failed to issue it. My documents were submitted late and that’s why this is an expected result,” Krikalev said.

However, Krikalev said “some specialists who applied to participate in this congress, departed there, including people from Russian aerospace company RKK Energia and TsNIIMash.”

Media reports said earlier on Tuesday that other delegates, including those from Roscosmos, also failed to attend the event as they had not been granted Canadian visas. The reports said Alexander Milkovsky, the director general of TsNIIMash, is among those who have not been issued visas.