The Latest Breaking News from Dmitry Rogozin

WASHINGTON: After nearly a week back on Earth, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei said Tuesday the relationship between US astronauts and Russian cosmonauts remained positive while on board the International Space Station, despite their countries' animosity over Moscow's February invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

The director of Russia’s space program said economic sanctions aimed at the country threaten partnerships at the International Space Station and he supports a move to end future cooperation with other agencies.

The threat by the head of the Russian space agency to leave U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) came to naught as he traveled back to Earth with two Russian cosmonauts, ending a record-breaking time in space.

Mark Vande Hei rides back with Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov after 355 days at International Space Station, a US record

Vande Hei spent 355 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station.

A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts safely landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after leaving the International Space Station aboard the same capsule despite heightened antagonism between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Ukraine.

For 30 years the U.S.-Russia partnership at the ISS was above it all. Now the U.S. finds itself in need of a friend, not a foe.

The Kremlin dismissed a remark by U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday that Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power," saying it was up to Russians to choose their own president.

Russia's space director said on Thursday that Europe had wrecked cooperation by imposing sanctions against his agency, and rockets that were meant to launch European satellites would now be used for Russian companies or countries friendly to Moscow.