IAF Can Contribute to De-Escalation Between Russia, West Over Ukraine, Executive Director Says

COLORADO SPRINGS (Sputnik) - The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) believes it can help deescalate current tensions related to space cooperation between Russia and the West over the Ukraine conflict, IAF Executive Director Christian Feichtinger said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium.

"Our mission is to contribute to a deescalation and to keep in contact with people ... so that's our mission. That's what we are going to follow," he said when asked about anti-Russian sanctions and tensions among ISS partners.

The IAF, he added, provides a platform that allows any member organisation from any country to meet and to share and to connect.

"As long as people are able to talk to each other, I think there is a good chance that we will see peace on earth," he said.

The IAF is determined to continue cooperating with Russia and Ukraine as the organisation has a code of conduct not to ban any party based on traits like nationality, Feichtinger said.

He also acknowledged that many of the IAF's 433 members from 72 countries are concerned about what is going on in Ukraine.

"But we have also a code of conduct that says very clearly that the IAF is committed to having organizations and people, and not ban people based on any characteristics like gender or nationality," he said.

The IAF was created during the times of the Cold War in order to bring the world together. Specifically at these times the East and the West could not freely meet in a bilateral setting, but only in a multilateral setting, he added.

"And since then, we have followed our mission to connect people," he said. "Space has always been the the domain where we can combine countries or people. And we, up to today, are following, of course, this mission."

According to Feichtinger, Russia is welcome at the upcoming IAF Global Conference on Space for Emerging Countries in Quito and The International Astronautical Congress in Paris.

"We are planning upcoming events - a global conference on space for emerging countries in Quito, the International Astronautical Congress in Paris in 2022. And we hope to see all our stakeholders," Feichtinger said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium.

When asked whether Russia is welcome there, Feichtinger stated, "as any other country. Yes."

Feichtinger also said he does not have any concrete plans for talks with Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin.

Feichtinger spoke on the sidelines of the 37th Space Symposium that brings together representatives of the world's space agencies, commercial space businesses as well as military, national security and intelligence organizations to discuss and plan the future of space exploration.

The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is hopeful that the International Space Station will exist until 2030 despite the current geopolitical tensions, IAF Executive Director Christian Feichtinger said.

Over the weekend, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said the space agency will soon inform the government of how it plans to terminate cooperation with Western partners on the ISS. Rogozin said that Russia and the West could have space cooperation if all sanctions on Russia are lifted.

"Great things can only be achieved if we all work together. So, in this spirit, we hope for the best," he said when asked if the ISS will last until 2030.

However, he also said it is not up to the IAF to decide the matter.

"It is the partnership within the ISS that needs to decide. We provide a platform where they can freely discuss on neutral grounds and in the positive spirit," he added.

The IAF chief called the ISS a "unique" project that has been bringing together many different stakeholders over so many years, noting that "it is difficult to imagine that this cooperation will break up."

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response, the West rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media and financial institutions.