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Russia, China set to sign lunar station deal soon — envoy

Andrey Denisov stressed that "a certain legal framework in this sphere is already available"

Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov Artyom Ivanov/TASS

Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov

© Artyom Ivanov/TASS

BEIJING, January 25. /TASS/. A Russia-China inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in establishing a lunar station is actually ready and may be signed shortly, Russia’s Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

"The agreement is practically ready and it seems that it may be signed quite soon," the diplomat said. He recalled that all states had been invited to participate in setting up an international lunar station.

"As far as I know, agreements on particular researches are in the process of their signing today. Such agreements have been signed with eleven countries and international organizations, including with Russian research organizations," the ambassador said.

As the Russian envoy said, "a certain legal framework in this sphere is already available."

The diplomat specified that this involved a long-term program of cooperation. The Chinese media earlier reported that the program envisaged unmanned flights, following which a lunar station would begin to be set up in about 2035.

As a whole, Russian-Chinese cooperation in outer space is developing "well and fruitfully," the ambassador stressed.

Currently, Russia and China are interacting under a program of cooperation in outer space for 2018-2022. A new five-year program is being prepared to replace it, the ambassador said.

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