MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Russia stands for deepening cooperation with other countries, including Western ones, in space exploration, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.
"Amid the current instability in world politics and global economy, I'd like to say that space is one of the few areas where Russia retains and continues cooperation with other countries, including those Western. Our country stands for its preservation and deepening," Matviyenko said in an article published on the Federation Council's website on Cosmonautics Day.
This kind of cooperation, which brings together the most progressive thinking people, must not depend on the current circumstances, she said.
"This is crucial for all mankind," Matviyenko said.
She noted the importance of developing public-private partnerships in space exploration, without ignoring respective Western practices.
"We need to bolster the appeal of business investments in our space industry and protect them by solid guarantees. For now, practical steps in this area are largely obstructed by imperfection of laws. I believe we should envisage the possibility of swift adjustment of legislation to modern needs. I am sure we should not be shy about learning from the West's experience, whenever it is efficient and enables new achievements," Matviyenko said.
It is important to give a green corridor to private space initiatives at every stage of coordination and to prevent executive and supervisory bodies from slowing them down, she said.
"For its part, the Federation Council is ready to prioritize the hearing of respective laws. The cost of delay is particularly high when the competition is tight," Matviyenko said.
She mentioned manned flights, the construction of a national space station, Russia's lunar program for 2021-2040 and space research among Russia's priorities in space exploration.
"We will be increasing our satellite group, in particular, to support the Northern Sea Route. There are other, no less extensive tasks, too," Matviyenko said.