Space official says Belarus waits for West to “wake up” to cooperation

April 11, BPN. Cooperation between Belarus and Western space organizations, including NASA, has been suspended by Western countries, and not through the fault of Belarus, Academician Piotr Viciaź told a press conference in Minsk on April 11, when asked by BPN about cooperation amid international sanctions.

“We are members of many international organizations in the space sphere,” said Viciaź, who heads the National Academy of Sciences aerospace directorate. “As for cooperation, it is not through our fault that the Western countries have suspended it, so we are waiting for them to wake up and change their position. But that does not mean we do not develop cooperation.”

He said cooperation in joint space programs is conducted “primarily with Russia.” “Our task is to do whatever is necessary to [develop] space technology,” he added.

“We have the Union State, the CIS, the SCO, and the BRICS. We have cooperation with China. We are starting to develop, deepen and accelerate these areas with many other countries,” said the deputy head of the National Agency for Space Research.

Previously, the media reported that Belarus couldn’t buy high-resolution satellite imagery. “As of today, Europe’s entire space and orbital constellation works for Ukraine. No high-resolution data is sold to Russia or Belarus. Not even archive data,” Geoinformation Systems CEO Siarhiej Załaty said on January 15.