Kovalchuk spoke about cooperation between Russia and the West in the space sector

Russia continues to cooperate with Western partners, including the United States, in the space sector. Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, told Izvestia on June 19 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).

"The cooperation continues, it cannot but continue. You see, we fly with the Americans all the time today, that's a fact. Until recently, they had been buying our engines for decades. But we must understand that this is an environment of cooperation and competition," he said.

According to Kovalchuk, rivalry is a normal and understandable thing, so Russia needs to stay strong.

"You understand that we are entering a space that is common. Everyone is already jostling there, there are tens of thousands of satellites, we still need to negotiate. <...> Everyone is just trying, you know, to make the bet higher, so that it would be easier to negotiate, there would be more to refuse. So it's a normal process, complicated, but normal," he explained.

Kovalchuk added that Russia has a unique, the world's best technological base in the space industry, which needs to be constantly expanded and moved forward.

"And they (the younger generation. — Ed.) should use the developments that have been made to make money by shaping the market. But the state must understand, and therefore it is necessary to develop a platform for understanding the authorities, the state, scientists and people who are trying to do this. I think everything will be fine quickly," concluded Kovalchuk.

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On April 16, Russian Leader Vladimir Putin noted the importance of international cooperation in the space sector. According to him, Russia actively cooperates with its partners and, until recently, did so with the Europeans. So, currently, cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States in space continues.