Russia to build own space station - Roscosmos CEO Borisov

MOSCOW. July 26 (Interfax) - The construction of Russia's own space station will be a key priority in Roscosmos's piloted space exploration efforts, Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov said.

"We will continue the pilot program in line with the endorsed plans. Our main priorities will be focused on building a Russian space station," Borisov said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

Borisov said that Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024, by which time the deployment of a national space station will begin.

"You know that we are working as part of international cooperation on the International Space Station. Of course, we will comply with all our commitments to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made," Borisov said.

"I think we will have started work on the Russian space station by that time," he added.