NASA’s Bridenstine Arranges To ‘Temporarily’ Lift Sanctions on Roscosmos Director Rogozin

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

NASA’s Bridenstine Arranges To ‘Temporarily’ Lift Sanctions on Roscosmos Director Rogozin

Oct. 19, 2018 (EIRNS)—NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, fresh back from his meetings in Russia, announced today that he had succeeded in getting the White House to lift the sanctions on Roscosmos Director Dmitry Rogozin, “temporarily,” so that Rogozin can visit the U.S. to discuss cooperation in space. “NASA succeeded in temporarily removing the head of the Russian national space agency Roscosmos from the sanctions list,” Bridenstine told TASS.

“The U.S. space agency wants to secure strong working relations with Russia as it will benefit both nations,” Bridenstine said. “We wish to uphold such relations and will do everything we need to do that.”

Recalling that he delivered a speech at Moscow State University a week ago, Bridenstine said he hopes that one day he could invite his Russian counterpart to make a speech in his alma mater, Rice University in Houston.

NASA had unsuccessfully appealed to the State Department earlier to approve Rogozin’s trip to Germany, to participate in the International Astronautical Congress, during the first week of October. He was the only head of a major space agency who did not attend.

Rogozin was one of the first people sanctioned by Barack Obama after the U.S. overthrew the Ukraine government in 2014. He was then Deputy Prime Minister in charge of defense and space. Putin named him to head Roscosmos in May 2018.