International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi urged Moscow and Kiev to work together to ensure his safe trip to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is teetering on the verge of shut-down due to continued shelling by the Ukrainian troops
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2022) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi urged Moscow and Kiev to work together to ensure his safe trip to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is teetering on the verge of shut-down due to continued shelling by the Ukrainian troops.
"It is a long trip, and Ukraine is huge; it must be crossed in conditions of security, which are not ideal," Grossi told French newspaper El Monde on Thursday, adding that his agency "has no heavy armor, so we must rely on the support of the UN vehicles."
The director general added that this is "the operation," in which the Russian and Ukrainian sides "must work together."
"Therefore, we are in need of security guarantees. Moreover, my goal is that the agency's experts can stay there permanently after this mission, and I am working on agreements in this direction," Grossi said.
Earlier in the day, French President Emmanuel Macron said that France and the IAEA had received security guarantees from Russia and Ukraine to conduct the mission to the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
Grossi and Macron met on Thursday in Paris to discuss the latest developments around the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the long-awaited expert mission to the facility. The IAEA chief told the France 24 broadcaster that the agreement on the mission is "very close" and experts should depart in the near future.
Last Friday, Macron held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to the Kremlin, both leaders noted the importance of sending an IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia NPP, with Putin confirming Russia's readiness to provide the inspectors with necessary assistance. The Elysee Palace said that Putin "indicated his agreement" to the mission deployment. For a long time Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations could not reach an agreement on how the IAEA experts would get to the area either through Kiev-controlled territory or through Crimea.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has been targeted by multiple rocket strikes from Ukraine since going under Russian control in March, prompting fears of a possible nuclear disaster.
