Russia plans to build a major new cosmodrome in the Far East by the year 2000 to ensure the independence of its space program, the space forces commander told Itar-Tass on Thursday.


The announcement is a clear sign the Russia armed forces have given up hope of a permanent deal with Kazakhstan over the use of the former Soviet Union's main cosmodrome at Baikonur, buried deep in the Kazakh steppe.


"The interests of the country's defense capability and security cannot be made dependent on the policy of another country, even if it is a friendly Commonwealth member country," said Colonel General Vladimir Ivanov.


Russian space forces have traditionally run Baikonur, used for both military and civilian launches, but Kazakhstan is gradually assuming more control.


Ivanov said the new base at Svobodny near the Chinese border would be able to launch manned rockets, which is of crucial importance to Moscow.


Russia hopes to capture part of the lucrative international commercial satellite launch market but cannot do so if the future of Baikonur is in doubt.


The only cosmodrome on Russian territory is at Plesetsk in the far north but it cannot launch manned space flights.


Space force officials say the new facility at Svobodny should not be expensive because it would be on the site of a former ballistic missiles base with all the necessary equipment for launching.


But Valery Alaverdov, deputy head of the Russian Space Agency, said the Svobodnaya base was "only a plan, and moreover one for the distant future. Therefore the government is doing all it can to make sure Baikonur works." Kazakhstan wants the base to be privatized so it can benefit more from satellite launches but Russia insists its armed forces maintain control, saying the country's defenses would otherwise be compromised.


Russia said last month it hoped to sign a deal with Kazakhstan on leasing the cosmodrome but Thursday the two sides were still locked in negotiations in the Kazakh capital Almaty.


"The possibility of losing Baikonur has now become a reality for Russia," Moskovsky Komsomolets reported Thursday, saying only a fifth of the Russian officers on the base wanted to stay.


Moscow hopes to lease the cosmodrome for 30 years and link payment to Kazakhstan's $1.3 billion debt to Moscow.