Russia denies charges of leaving behind US astronaut at ISS

Moscow: Russia will fulfill its obligations concerning the return of NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei from the International Space Station (ISS) on March 30, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Monday.

“Roscosmos has never given any reason to doubt its reliability as a partner. The safe operation of the crew in the ISS orbit is our top priority. US astronaut Mark Vande Hei will return to Earth on March 30 aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft together with Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov,” the space agency said.