(MENAFN) Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has announced a renewed agreement with NASA to continue joint operations aboard the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028. The decision came after a meeting in Houston, Texas, on Thursday between Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov and acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy—the first face-to-face meeting between the agencies’ leaders in eight years.

The talks focused on the ISS’s current operations, plans for future lunar missions, and potential joint deep-space projects. Bakanov said the meeting was productive and confirmed that both sides discussed the eventual deorbiting of the ISS, scheduled for 2030.

The ISS, in orbit since 1998, remains a rare area of sustained US-Russian cooperation despite strained political relations, particularly over the Ukraine conflict. Although Russia had previously suggested it might exit the ISS program after 2024, it has since shown willingness to remain involved.

Bakanov also invited Duffy to a November launch at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome, which will include an American astronaut. Duffy accepted the invitation.

In related developments, Bakanov met with NASA’s Crew-11 team, which includes Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, Americans Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, and Japan’s Kimiya Yui. Their SpaceX Dragon launch from the Kennedy Space Center was delayed by weather and rescheduled from Thursday to Friday.

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