MELITOPOL, April 27. /TASS/. The odds that a safety zone around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) will be created by the end of the year are low, Renat Karchaa, an advisor to the chief executive of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power plant operator, told TASS.
Earlier, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi expressed hope during a visit to Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant that a safety zone at the Zaporozhye facility would be set up by the end of the year.
"I personally believe that the likelihood of an agreement on the safety zone and mechanisms around the ZNPP being made [before the end of the year] is not high. My forecast is that Ukraine will once again bring talks to a deadlock. Ukraine is not interested in establishing effective mechanisms that would guarantee nuclear security," Karchaa pointed out. According to him, reaching an agreement depends on numerous factors, including the parties’ "levelheadedness, professional approaches and willingness to make nuclear security a priority."
However, Karchaa highlighted the need to continue dialogue on the issue in order to "consistently defend our position" regardless of the difficulties. "Nothing, none of our activities and agreements should harm Russia’s interests, the ZNPP’s nuclear security or people," he added.
Grossi made his second visit to the Zaporozhye NPP on March 29. In particular, he was able to see the facilities that were damaged in shelling attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces. Grossi told reporters later that the IAEA was now focused on protecting the actual nuclear plant rather than the area around it. He also stated that the station’s demilitarization was no longer under consideration.