Moscow. January 22. INTERFAX - The head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, reacted to the statement of the US Embassy in Moscow, noting that the question remained unanswered why Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Chub was denied a visa.
"OK, we got that, but what about the visa?" - Rogozin wrote in his telegram channel on Saturday.
So he commented on the message of the US Embassy regarding the situation with the non-issuance of a visa to the cosmonaut of Roscosmos Nikolai Chub.
Earlier on Saturday, the American diplomatic mission told Interfax that the United States "appreciates the important bilateral cooperation on the International Space Station," and embassy staff "continue to pay attention to visa processing for astronauts so that they can meet with their colleagues from NASA in a timely manner."
At the same time, the diplomatic mission stated that they could not comment on "individual visa cases."
Earlier on Saturday, a source told Interfax about the US refusal to issue an entry visa to Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Chub. According to the source, he was supposed to arrive at the Johnson Space Center for training.
The head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, in turn, said that he would request the position of the head of NASA in connection with the situation.
Later, Rogozin called the refusal of a visa "a dangerous precedent for cooperation on the ISS."
"It never occurred to us to refuse a visa to any US astronaut who was heading to Star City to prepare for a space flight," he stressed.
The press service of Roscosmos reported that the cosmonaut had to take a course on working in the American segment, in particular on actions in emergency situations. According to the press service, failure to complete this course threatens the safety of the cosmonaut and the station.
Also, according to the press service of the state corporation, the crew, whose members have not been trained to work in the American segment, will not be able to send to the ISS.
"Without lectures and practical exercises on the layout of the American segment, familiarization with the work of its systems, understanding the interaction of the systems of the American and Russian segment, as well as taking a course on actions in an emergency situation, in principle, it is impossible to fly into space," the press service reported.
