Russia has decided to withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024 and the country's space entity notified President Vladimir Putin of the plan on Tuesday, local media reports said.
The reports came amid uncertainties about whether the operation of the ISS, which also involves more than 10 countries such as the United States and Japan, can be maintained after the current agreement expires in 2024.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement the U.S. space agency is committed to the safe operation of the orbiting laboratory through 2030, while noting that "it has not been made aware of decisions from any of the partners."
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a press conference that it is an "unfortunate development, given the critical scientific work performed at the ISS."
Yuri Borisov, who became the new chief of Roscosmos on July 15, laid out the withdrawal plan in a meeting with Putin at the Kremlin, according to the Tass news agency. Roscosmos is a state corporation for space activities.
"We will definitely fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to withdraw from this station after 2024 has been made," Borisov was quoted as saying.
International negotiations regarding the extension of the joint operation deal have been effectively suspended in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
Former Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin had maintained that any resumption of the talks would hinge on the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by countries backing Ukraine.
In April 2021, Borisov, then deputy prime minister, proposed that Russia build its own space station rather than seek to renovate the aging ISS, whose construction began in 1998.
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration revealed a plan last week to launch a commercial rocket on Sept. 29 or later to carry a total of four U.S., Japanese and Russian astronauts to the ISS.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a separate press conference Tuesday that the United States is exploring options to mitigate any potential impacts on the ISS beyond 2024 if Russia does withdraw.
