MOSCOW, January 6. / TASS / Russian space agency Roscosmos is surprised that NASA has chosen to communicate with the state corporation through the media, and not directly, said the agency official representative Vladimir Ustimenko on Sunday.
"It’s strange for us that colleagues at NASA are communicating with us through the media, not directly. Moreover, we believe [Jim Bridenstine, director of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration] can personally contact the head of Roscosmos, taking into consideration the statements that were made in October during his visit to Moscow," said Ustimenko.
"We are still waiting for clarification on the current situation from the American agency through our established partner channels or from NASA representatives in Russia," said Ustimenko. He added that "so far even formal notifications about the cancellation of the official Russian visit have not been received yet."
On Janaury 5, 2019, Bridenstine said in an interview with the Washington Post that decided to cancel Rogozin’s visit to the United States because of the position of US senators. "We heard from many senators that this invitation is not a very good idea," said the head of the US space agency. "And I wanted to act in accordance with the interests of the senators, so I canceled the invitation," he added. According to the Washington Post, earlier, the agency decided to postpone the visit for an indefinite period, but NASA subsequently decided to cancel it.
Bridenstine also informed that the idea to invite Rogozin was an attempt to "maintain strong working relations, distant from geopolitics and even from the party differences within the United States, and that was good for both countries." He noted that it was "good for the whole world, when countries that have differences over many other things can cooperate in the space sphere." According to Bridenstine, he did not consult with the White House when he invited Rogozin to the United States, nor did he consult with the White House when he canceled the invitation.