MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Statements by Kazakh space agency's chief Talgat Musabayev on Russian-Kazakh relations in the space sphere are unjustified and incorrect, said the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos).
"In fact, Musabayev's statements shatter Russia's stable relationships with launch customers and show no trust to enterprises in the Russian space industry. One can speak to a certain extent about Musabayev's aspiration to review the legal base for leasing the [Baikonur] spaceport," Roscosmos said in a statement obtained by Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
Musabayev's statements, made in early December and negatively describing some areas of Russian-Kazakh joint work in the space sphere, are "unjustified."
In particular the wording Musabayev used to speak about the KazSat space vehicle, which was developed by Russia's Khrunichev Space Research and Production Center and which prematurely broke down in the orbit "fall short of the state rank of an official of such a level, and moreover the level of assessing of Russian-Kazakh relations," Roscosmos said.
Roscosmos "does not understand well" Musabayev's statements on the future of the Baikonur spaceport, given that Russia is building the Vostochny (Eastern) spaceport on its territory.
"There will be no alternative to the joint use of the Baikonur spaceport for many years ahead. Moreover, its use is linked to the implementation of a number of priority programs, for example manned flights, implemented by Russia and other countries," Roscosmos' statement reads.