Moscow. May 28. INTERFAX - Russia and China are close to signing an intergovernmental agreement on the creation of a scientific base on the moon, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said.
"We are now in a high degree of readiness with China to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the creation of a lunar research base," Rogozin said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel (VGTRK).
On February 23, Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with Interfax that China and Russia had reached a consensus on the terms of an intergovernmental agreement on the establishment of a research station on the moon. He noted that the agreement "will be signed as soon as possible this year."
According to him, both countries will carefully develop and implement a plan for the construction of a lunar station with the involvement of a wide range of international partners based on the principle of openness.
Roscosmos has previously stated that work is underway to create a regulatory framework for the project. In March 2021, an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the creation of an international scientific lunar station was signed.
On December 15, in an interview with Interfax, Rogozin said that the key aspect of the Russian-Chinese project to create a lunar station is the equality of partners, its absence was the main reason for Russia's withdrawal from the American Gateway project.
"The project to create such a station is a serious step in the exploration of the Moon, so it is open to all interested countries and foreign partners," Rogozin said.
As the deputy head of Roscosmos for international cooperation Sergey Savelyev said earlier, the state corporation does not exclude the participation of private companies in the project.
On June 8, 2021, it was reported that the head of Roscosmos discussed with the president of the National Center for Space Research of France (CNES) Philippe Baptiste possible French participation in the project to create an international scientific lunar station.
On January 25, 2021, it was reported that the Russian side was withdrawing from the American Gateway project. According to the head of Roscosmos, Russia is not interested in participating in the American lunar program. "We are not interested in this. Russia has its own lunar exploration program," Rogozin reported in Telegram.
