The U.S. satellite startup OneWeb, which plans to create a worldwide internet network using satellites, said on Friday that it had not offered the Russian government a stake in the project.

Axar.az reports citing Reuters.

Sources had earlier told Reuters that OneWeb had offered to sell a 12.5 percent stake to Russia, a move it hoped would allay Moscow’s concerns about the company’s satellite network plan.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said in October it was against the OneWeb’s project to bring internet access to remote parts of the country because the agency said it could be used to gather intelligence and damage national security.