Three astronauts land back on Earth in Soyuz capsule

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and U.S. astronaut Rick Mastracchio sit in chairs shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz TMA-11 space capsule on Wednesday. -AP Photo

MOSCOW: Three astronauts, including a Russian and an American, touched down safely on Earth Wednesday aboard a Soyuz capsule, the first such landing since Russia's relationship with the West slumped amid the Ukraine crisis.

The returning crew consisted of Japan's Koichi Wakata, who was the first ever Japanese commander of an ISS space mission, as well as NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.

They landed safely at 0159 GMT in the Kazakh steppes after spending more than half a year aboard the orbiting International Space Station.

The landing was the first since Russia's relationship with the West hit its lowest point in decades over the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by Moscow in mid-March and its involvement in the ensuing Ukraine crisis.

NASA in April announced that it was cutting space cooperation with Russia over Moscow's Ukraine policies, but that work at the space station would not be affected.