MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Restrictions or bans being imposed by Western countries on scientific contacts with the Russia do not affect entire Russian science, an Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vsevolod Belousov, believes. Nor do the sanctions upset personal contacts, said Vsevolod Belousov, the Director of the Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies under the Federal Bio-Medical Agency, according to a news release uploaded to the website of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Friday.
"As far as European and US organizations are concerned, one finds some kind of official warnings or bans almost everywhere. But they do not necessarily apply to Russian science as such. For example, our Belgian colleagues have received a list of Russian universities with which they should not cooperate. The FBMA Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, which I manage, as well as the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which I am also affiliated with, were not on this list, and our Belgian colleagues heaved a sigh of relief. At the personal level, all those who have cooperated with me have not severed relations," Belousov said.
Any scientific research conducted by Russian, European or American scientists today benefits from collaboration, he stressed, because not a single laboratory in the world has the resources to independently conduct research in full at the world level.
"It is difficult to say whether these collaborations will be harmed today, because too little time has passed. For now, there have been no significant disruptions, at least in my field," Belousov explained, adding that "in the scientific community, personal contacts have always been and a priority and still remain so."
Belousov stressed that in July he moderated one of the sections of the Gordon Scientific Conference on Redox Biology, which has been held since 1931 and is generally regarded as the quintessence of scientific thought. The section featured reports by scientists from France, the US, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, Germany and other countries. The conference was originally created by scientists and, according to Belousov, it continues to be governed solely by the principles of science.
"At the Gordon conference in Spain, many colleagues were approaching me: both those who had been in Russia before, and who had merely heard about our events. All wanted to visit us. All shared the same opinion and desire. They wish to see the situation in the world stabilize and scientists have a chance to calmly continue their practical cooperation, which has taken dozens of years to build," Belousov said.