ST. PETERSBURG, June 5. /TASS/. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, hopes that new NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will visit Russia until the end of 2021, Rogozin told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Saturday.
"I expect him to come this year. Maybe, for one of the launches, we’ll see," Rogozin said.
The Roscosmos head was hopeful that better relations with Nelson will help to mend ties with the United States.
"It goes without saying that he is a very experienced man, who is close to the current US president [Joe Biden], and that is good. Therefore, if we are able to explain all those mishaps and absurdities, which have been taking place in accordance with the US line of sanctions against Russia’s industry, and if NASA, within the framework of partners, calls for this cooperation to be continued, there will be a chance to improve our relations and to restore a normal dialogue," he explained.
Rogozin added that he was planning to show the NASA director around the enterprises and introduce him to the designers.
"I will do my best to establish a personal and trusting dialogue with that experienced and respected man, Mr. Nelson. So I expect him to visit my family. And I hope that he will come, too, with his loved ones. We are going to show him that Russia he does not know. We will show him the industry; we will visit enterprises. We will have a talk. I will introduce him to our leading designers," Rogozin said.