Russia is ready to cooperate with China on the country's first manned space mission, the director of the Russian Space Agency Yury Koptev said Monday, cited by the Interfax news agency.
Discussions between the two countries are already underway.
Russia had the capability and was ready to help on projects that did not threaten Russian security, presidential advisor Yevgeny Shaposhnikov said in an interview with the Interfax agency Monday.
Koptev and Russian vice premier Ilya Klebanov first brought up the possibility of helping the Chinese with their space project at the end of August, during a meeting of the joint commission formed to strengthen Sino-Russian ties.
China's first manned space flight is scheduled for the beginning of next year.
Copyright 1999 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
