Russia says CERN decision to cut science cooperation is unacceptable

[March 20, 2024]  MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that a decision by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to cut cooperation with Russian scientists was politicized, discriminatory and unacceptable.   

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) logo is pictured on a car in Meyrin near Geneva, Switzerland, April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo

CERN said in December it would cut cooperation with Russia from November 2024 and Belarus from June due to the war in Ukraine.

"We consider such actions to be politicized and absolutely unacceptable," Zakharova told reporters in Moscow. "The West is increasing pressure on our country in the field of fundamental science."

Zakharova said the decision by CERN was discriminatory against Russian scientists.

CERN, which provides a unique range of particle accelerator facilities, formalized cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1967.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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