Cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky pleased with meeting with Lukashenko

After meeting with Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko the cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky shared his impressions and talked about the essence of the conversation with the president, BelTA has learned.

Oleg Novitsky said: “We may have taken a bit more time than the president could spare. Nevertheless, everyone was very pleased. It was great, very hearty.”

When asked about his attitude to the Belarusian award the cosmonaut received on 21 December in light of his Russian citizenship, Oleg Novitsky said: “I am a Belarusian by origin, by nationality. I just cannot separate the two countries. As the president said today, [Belarus and Russia] have a common fatherland indeed.”In his words, the conversation with the president touched upon the training of Belarusian cosmonauts for a flight to the International Space Station. The leaders of Belarus and Russia had previously reached the relevant agreement.

BelTA reported earlier that at a session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Belarus and Russia on 4 November President of Russia Vladimir Putin reminded about Belarus' proposal on including a Belarusian cosmonaut into the crew of the International Space Station. Vladimir Putin said: “We talked with the Roscosmos leadership about it at a session in Sochi just yesterday. We are ready to support this proposal and implement it in the near future. It is necessary to agree the details. There are some and they are not overly complicated for reconciliation.”