Russia says it will end cooperation with other nations on the International Space Station until the sanctions put on the country are lifted. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, announced in a thread on Twitter that the โ€œrestoration of normal relations between partnersโ€ on the ISS and other projects is only possible with the โ€œcomplete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions.โ€

In translated versions of his tweets, Rogozin says he appealed the sanctions in letters to NASA, the European Space Agency, as well as the Canadian Space Agency. Rogozin also posted images of what appears to be each countryโ€™s response โ€” The Verge reached out to NASA, the ESA, and the CSA to confirm their authenticity but didnโ€™t immediately hear back.

โ€œThe U.S. continues to support international government space cooperations, especially those activities associated with operating the ISS with Russia, Canada, Europe, and Japan,โ€ the letter signed by NASA administrator Bill Nelson reads. โ€œNew and existing U.S. export control measures continue to allow cooperation between the U.S. and Russia to ensure continued safe operations of the ISS.โ€

ะ“ะปะฐะฒะฐ ะะะกะ ัะตะฝะฐั‚ะพั€ ะะตะปัŒัะพะฝ, ั€ัƒะบะพะฒะพะดะธั‚ะตะปัŒ ะ•ะฒั€ะพะฟะตะนัะบะพะณะพ ะบะพัะผะธั‡ะตัะบะพะณะพ ะฐะณะตะฝั‚ัั‚ะฒะฐ ะ™ะพะทะตั„ ะัˆะฑะฐั…ะตั€ ะธ ะณะปะฐะฒะฐ ะšะฐะฝะฐะดัะบะพะณะพ ะบะพัะผะธั‡ะตัะบะพะณะพ ะฐะณะตะฝั‚ัั‚ะฒะฐ ะ›ะธะทะฐ ะšัะผะฟะฑะตะปะป ะพั‚ะฒะตั‚ะธะปะธ ะฝะฐ ะผะพั‘ ะบ ะฝะธะผ ะพะฑั€ะฐั‰ะตะฝะธะต ั ั‚ั€ะตะฑะพะฒะฐะฝะธะตะผ ะพั‚ะผะตะฝั‹ ัะฐะฝะบั†ะธะน ะฟั€ะพั‚ะธะฒ ั€ัะดะฐ ะฟั€ะตะดะฟั€ะธัั‚ะธะน ั€ะพััะธะนัะบะพะน ั€ะฐะบะตั‚ะฝะพ-ะบะพัะผะธั‡ะตัะบะพะน ะพั‚ั€ะฐัะปะธ. pic.twitter.com/rnMYiK9wal

โ€” ะ ะžะ“ะžะ—ะ˜ะ (@Rogozin) April 2, 2022

The CSA appears to have a similar response to Rogozinโ€™s request, stating โ€œI can assure you that Canada continues to support the ISS program, and is dedicated to its safe and successful operations.โ€ Meanwhile, ESA head Josef Aschbacher replied by saying heโ€™ll pass on Rogozinโ€™s request to the agencyโ€™s member states for assessment.

โ€œThe position of our partners is clear: the sanctions will not be lifted,โ€ Rogozin says. โ€œThe purpose of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger, and bring our country to its knees.โ€ Rogozin adds that Roscosmos will soon determine a date on when to halt Russiaโ€™s involvement with the ISS, which will then be reported to Russian government officials.

Rogozin reacted strongly to the sanctions imposed by President Joe Biden in February, making an insinuation that the space station could come crashing down to Earth without Russiaโ€™s involvement. As my colleague Loren Grush points out, Russiaโ€™s withdrawal from the station has the potential to do real harm, as NASA relies on Russia to maintain the ISSโ€™s position and orientation in space.

On Thursday, NASA said Russia was โ€œmoving towardโ€ extending its cooperation on the ISS until 2030, but Rogozinโ€™s statements make this seem unlikely. Earlier this week, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei safely returned to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket with two cosmonauts. Prior to his arrival, there had been concerns about his return home amid Russiaโ€™s ongoing war in Ukraine, but Roscosmos maintained that it would not strand Vande Hei on the ISS.

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