The Russian deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova made the comments during the official visit by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s prime minister, to the grand duchy this week.

Reuters quoted Golikova as saying:

“In January we offered Luxembourg a framework agreement on cooperation in the use of (mining) exploration in space. We expect an answer from Luxembourg.”

The official Russian news agency Tass reported that Golikova told press:

“Russia and Luxemburg will hold negotiations on signing a framework agreement on cooperation in space research and use”.

And:

“that legal regulation of this issue was absent in Russia and Moscow adhered to the legal regulation of space research adopted within the UN framework.”

A working group is in the process of being set up, Tass said.

Currently only the grand duchy and the US have enshrined space mining rights into national law. Luxembourg’s government has previously said it is “eager to engage with other countries” on developing an international legal framework for asteroid mining.

Étienne Schneider, the LSAP economy minister, said a cooperation agreement had not been ready to be signed during Medvedev’s visit, according to Paperjam. Medvedev stated that the Russian government wanted to create “an increasingly favourable environment for Luxembourg companies”.

The two countries did sign agreements on cultural and economic cooperation.

The US ambassador to Luxembourg criticised Medvedev’s visit, which took place just after the fifth anniversary of Russia’s takeover of Crimea.