KALININGRAD, June 6. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is ready to act as a mediator on the US fuel issue at the Zaporozhye nuclear power station, if the parties agree on this, head of the IAEA Rafael Grossi said after a meeting with Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev.
At the meeting, Likhachev invited Grossi to serve as a mediator in talks on the use of American fuel at the Zaporozhye nuclear power station. He said that American fuel is loaded into the core of four out of six units. There is also one set in the fresh fuel storage and "a fairly large number of assemblies in the holding pools."
"For our part, we have closely followed the speeches made by Rosatom CEO Mr. Likhachev on the use of U.S. fuel. I want to say that the IAEA will be able to play its role as a mediator, and we are ready for such a role if both sides come to an understanding of cooperation on this fuel issue," Grossi told reporters.
"We were informed of the concern of the American side, represented both by the company and the Energy Ministry about the need to coordinate actions regarding the protection of intellectual property of American products, and, in fact, we have repeatedly said that any solution to the fuel problem is possible for us, starting with the use of this fuel and ending with its full unloading and return, respectively, to the supplier," Likhachev explained.
He stressed that for Rosatom, "there is nothing unknown in this matter. "We are ready to solve any problem, but based on our principle of non-violation of international agreements and fulfillment of all our obligations, we are ready to carry out this work with the American side through the mediation of the IAEA.".