Roscosmos stated in a statement on its Telegram channel: “Dmitry Bakanov held talks with the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy. The statement noted that this is the first direct meeting between the heads of the space agencies since 2018. Earlier on Thursday, Stephen Cecilov, spokesperson for NASA’s public affairs at the Kennedy Space Center, stated that the upcoming meeting between the Director-General of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, “could outline the future dialogue path between the two agencies.” Cecilov mentioned in an interview on the eve of the talks: “I believe this dialogue will focus on how to pave this path. We will see how things unfold,” in response to a question about the potential for improved cooperation between the agencies with the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Cecilov confirmed that NASA and Roscosmos continue to exchange information daily, despite the political differences between the United States and Russia.
