MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. NASA has fallen victim to a struggle between the United States Congress and President Donald Trump, head of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel, commenting on the cancellation of his visit.
"We understand that in this particular situation this is part of a struggle between Congress and Trump and in this particular case NASA has fallen victim to this struggle because we know about the stance of our partners - they call in principle for developing cooperation with Russia," Rogozin said.
"We are also interested in working with the Americans, but we want them to be a predictable partner. Going into space is akin to a reconnaissance mission: you don’t go there with just anybody. However, now we see such turbulence, in fact a very bizarre type at that, which left a nasty taste in our mouths," the Roscosmos CEO said.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told the Washington Post earlier that he had "rescinded an invitation" to the Roscosmos chief to visit the United States due to the position of US senators. NASA issued a statement saying Russia had been informed that Rogozin’s visit needed to be postponed. No new date for the visit has been announced.
Roscosmos Spokesman Vladimir Ustimenko told TASS that the state corporation won’t take any immediate steps towards NASA and will decide about future relations with the US aeronautics and space agency after receiving official documents concerning the cancellation of Rogozin’s visit to the US.