Russia is to develop two cosmodromes with the aim of eventually giving up the use of the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as a satellite launch site, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.



The Plesetsk cosmodrome in Russia’s far north is set to replace the Kazakh site as the launch pad for major projects in the future, Deputy Russian Defence Minister Alexander Kosovan announced in February.



Ivanov confirmed that Russia would concentrate resources on the development of Plesetsk but insisted that the Siberian site would also be expanded.