On October 26, MGIMO MFA of Russia and Samara National Research University named after Academician Sergey P. Korolev organized a teleconference “Space Diplomacy”, which brought together cosmonauts, students and activists of the Space Diplomacy Club, representatives of private cosmonautics from Moscow, Samara and Paris.

The teleconference was held within the track “Current Trends in Space Diplomacy Development” of the II International Scientific and Practical Conference “Digital International Relations 2023” with the participation of the Russian House of Science and Culture in Paris.

The participants of the teleconference discussed the history and modern aspects of space diplomacy, Russian-French relations in the field of space, and the development of international space cooperation.

The representative of the Russian House in Paris recalled the first agreement between the USSR and France, signed in 1966, which led to Soviet carrier rockets launching two French satellites. The Samara specialists, in turn, participated in the creation of the spaceport on the island of Kourou. In January 2023, the Russian House in Paris celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Soviet-French mission “Salyut-7” and the 30th anniversary of the Russian-French mission “Antares.

Within the framework of the meeting the famous pilot-cosmonaut Hero of the Soviet Union Jean-Loup Chretien (France), the first French citizen to fly into space on the Soviet spacecraft “Soyuz T-6” and orbital station “Salyut-7” made a speech.

Cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chretien in his talk with the students noted the importance of space diplomacy and emphasized that astronauts from different countries work together on the International Space Station and this cooperation has a great future.

The students recalled that on October 16, 2023, Russian diplomats introduced a resolution to the UN Committee on the peaceful uses of outer space entitled “Space Technologies for the Advancement of Peace,” which suggests that satellites should not be used for military purposes.

A video of Jean-Loup Chretien’s speech is available on the YouTube channel of the Russian House.

The full video of the conference can be viewed on the MGIMO YouTube channel

Source: Russian House in Paris