WASHINGTON, May 29. /TASS/. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Friday expressed hope that the Russian-US cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS) would continue, adding that he was looking forward to discussing the matter with his Russian counterpart.

"We have been cooperating in space ever since we built the International Space Station together. Russia is a vital partner to the space station, and I expect Russia to continue," Nelson said. "And I look forward to our discussions about the continuation of that extraordinary relationship."

"In times when things might be a little more difficult on the face of the earth, we seem to be getting along pretty good in space," he added.

Nelson also told reporters he would attend the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) in Russia this summer via a video linkup.

"Yes I am planning to do that virtually and I look forward to that. I understand that I will be on a panel," he said when asked by a TASS correspondent whether he planned to take part in the GLEX conference this summer.

Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday he had invited Nelson to visit Russia and was ready to discuss all aspects of cooperation in space with him.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov’s office announced on April 18 that the condition of the International Space Station left much to be desired. In order to avoid any risks in case of accidents, it was necessary to carry out a technical inspection of the station. After this, a decision should be made on the orbital outpost’s further operation. Also, Borisov said in an interview with the 'Moscow. Kremlin. Putin' program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel that Russia might quit the ISS project in 2025.

Fourteen countries participate in the ISS project: Russia, Canada, the US, Japan and the 10 member states of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Switzerland and Sweden). The station’s operation was initially planned to end in 2015-2016. However, the term was extended until 2020 at the meeting of the ISS member states in Paris on November 4, 2014. Later, they agreed to run it until at least 2024.