On February 9, a meeting was held in Moscow between the Director General of Rosatom State Corporation Alexei Likhachev and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, during which the Russian side spoke about the measures taken to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhzhya NPP (ZNPP). This is stated in the message of the department.
The participants of the delegations discussed issues related to ensuring nuclear and physical nuclear safety of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Likhachev spoke, among other things, about steps aimed at ensuring comfortable social and living conditions for ZNPP workers and their families.
Grossi announced the progress of the initiative to create a nuclear and security protection zone at the Zaporozhye NPP. The Russian side supported this proposal and expressed its readiness to continue work on the implementation of Grossi’s idea.
Earlier Thursday, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that Grossi had proposed new ideas for a protective zone around the ZNPP. He added that during the consultations in Moscow, the Russian side will determine how these proposals meet the interests of the case.
The visit of the head of the agency to Moscow became known on February 6. On that day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the possibility of Grossi meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the end of January, Ulyanov pointed out that Ukraine had not given an answer for the fifth month to the draft declaration submitted to it on the creation of a protective zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. He clarified that Grossi handed over the draft declaration to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Dmitry Kuleba, in New York on September 21.
On January 20, the IAEA Director General said that all parties agree on the need to create a security zone around the ZNPP, but the negotiation process is very difficult.
Zaporozhye NPP is the largest NPP in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity. The object came under the control of Russia following the results of the referendum on the reunification of the Zaporozhye region with the Russian Federation.
The power plant has been under the supervision of IAEA staff since the beginning of September 2022. The mission of the organization arrived at the Zaporizhia NPP after shelling of the territory of the plant by Ukrainian troops.
