NOVOSIBIRSK, March 19. /TASS/. Russian researchers working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will hand things over to their colleagues from other countries by November 2024, a spokesperson for the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS.

"The CERN management has made a political decision to suspend cooperation with research organizations from Russia. The decision will negatively affect scientific research carried out both by CERN and Russian institutions. A process is currently underway to hand things over to our colleagues from various CERN member states, which is expected to be completed by November 2024. There is no discussion of further cooperation," the spokesperson said.

Earlier, CERN announced that it would suspend cooperation with some 500 employees linked to Russia.

Meanwhile, Pavel Logachev, director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS that six researchers from the institute would continue their work at CERN until the end of the year. He stressed that they would not stop their ongoing research efforts because "it’s a civilizational mission." "There is also no place for political confrontation and negative things," Logachev added.

In March 2022, CERN suspended Russia’s observer status, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine. In June 2022, the CERN Council decided not to extend a cooperation agreement with Russia and Belarus beyond 2024.

Researchers from the Institute of Nuclear Physics are among the initiators of the Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) as part of the CERN project. Russian scientists discovered a phenomenon destroying plasma waves that accelerate charged particles in wakefield accelerators.