Moscow. January 22. INTERFAX - Cosmonaut, Hero of Russia Mikhail Kornienko said that it is possible to completely stop the joint work of the United States and Russia on the International Space Station (ISS).
"The station has been flying for 23 years, close to the limit. Against the background of the current political tension, it is probably impossible to exclude such a moment," said Kornienko, whose words are quoted on Saturday on the website of the radio station "Moscow Speaks".
Commenting on the refusal of an American visa to Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Chub, Kornienko said: "There is only a negative assessment here. All this has fallen into space. Complete stupidity. Until now, the ISS has been an island outside politics. Now the Americans are already putting their politics there. This is bad and unfortunate. The question (about retaliatory measures - "UM") is not to me, but to politicians and diplomats. But I would answer symmetrically."
Earlier it was reported that the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, sent a request to the head of NASA not to issue an American visa to Chub.
Earlier on Saturday, a source told Interfax about the US refusal to issue an entry visa to Chub. According to the source, he was supposed to arrive at the Johnson Space Center for training.
