In May of 2017 PRG executive director Stephen Bassett gave an extensive interview in Moscow to REN TV, one of the most watched networks in Russia with 500 stations and a viewer base of 120 million. The interview was conducted by journalist Natalia Pryguina and produced by Nikolay Subbotin.

In the full interview held at REN TV's studio Bassett covered a broad range of topics including various considerations that might prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to make the first formal acknowledgment by a head of state regarding an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race. In this regard the interview was unprecedented as it is the first time anyone has made this argument on Russian media inside or outside Russia.

While short segments of the interview have previously been released, PRG is has now posting the main section of that interview in which some controversial points are made. The other segments are posted on PRG's YouTube Channel.

PRG has repeatedly stated in American media that Vladimir Putin is the most likely head of state at this time to formally acknowledge an extraterrestrial presence and provide new evidence from Russian military sources to back up the announcement. Should that happen the geopolitical consequences for the United States would be considerable.

Billionaire space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow was quoted in a December 16, 2017 New York Times article stating, "Internationally, we are the most backward country in the world on this issue Our scientists are scared of being ostracized, and our media is scared of the stigma. China and Russia are much more open and work on this with huge organizations within their countries. Smaller countries like Belgium, France, England and South American countries like Chile are more open, too. They are proactive and willing to discuss this topic, rather than being held back by a juvenile taboo."

While in Moscow Bassett also took meetings with a number of groups addressing the extraterrestrial phenomena issues in Russia. These groups included a number of former Soviet and Russian military and agency officials. There has always been a considerable, open engagement of extraterrestrial related phenomena within Russia and the Soviet Union by the public and the government.