Germany Wants To Expel Russia From Major Laser Project Despite Resistance - Official

SOCHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2022) Germany has been discriminating against Russian scientists taking part in the development of the European x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) and wants Russia completely expelled from the project despite resistance to such move by other countries, president of Russia's Kurchatov national research center Mikhail Kovalchuk said on Friday.

Kovalchuk drew attention to Russia's large contributions to the XFEL project in the amount of 40 million Euros ($42 million) per year and voiced his concerns about Germany at a session on mega-science research of the II Congress of Young Scientists in Sochi.

"Germans demand that we be expelled. And all other participants, Slovaks, Swedes, who follow everything the Germans say, they understand that as soon as we are out they will have to pay this money. They have none. They do not pay already, neither Poles, nor them (Slovaks, Swedes). They have debts, that is why everything is going to collapse," Kovalchuk said.

According to the scientist, earlier in the week, Germany proposed to strike out Names of Russian scientists from an article on the XFEL, but other countries took Russia's side on the matter.

Kovalchuk added that Germans "behaved absolutely aggressively" and "terrorized everyone," while other participating countries were "scared, but tried not to support (Germany)."

The scientist further recalled that Germany didn't want to let a Russian representative to attend one of the meetings and then threatened to cancel it if the representative did not leave.

The XFEL is a unique international mega-science X-ray research project. It allows the study of atoms and different nano substances more closely, which, in turn, will make possible the development of new materials with certain properties. Twelve countries participate in the research. The Kurchatov Institute supervises Russia's participation in the project.

Russia covered more than a quarter of the project's total cost (1.2 billion euros), paying more than the rest of the countries combined, except Germany, which provided around half of the necessary funds.