Russia asked NASA to end sanctions to save the ISS, but the West didn’t blink

Enlarge / Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin is photographed in October 2018, after the launch failure of a Soyuz-FG rocket. (credit: Alexei Filippov/TASS via Getty Images)

For a few weeks now, the chief of Russia's spaceflight activities has said that the United States and its Western allies must end sanctions on his country by March 31 or face the consequences when it comes to partnering on the International Space Station.

After those sanctions remained in place at the end of March, the director general of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, vowed to issue a response on April 2. True to his word, he did so early on Saturday morning. His full Twitter thread can be found here, but it is simple to summarize: more bluster, more threats, but likely little change.

In his new missive, Rogozin is still demanding "complete and unconditional" end of the Western sanctions on Russia, and he is still threatening to end the partnership on the International Space Station. Specifically, Rogozin said Roscosmos will soon send "specific proposals" to end its cooperation on the space station to the Russian government.

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